The Real Deal
by Electra126
Summary: Sequel to The Replacement. After her encounter with Echo, Buffy decides to buckle down and deal with Faith and their mixed feelings whether Faith wants to play nice or not.
1. Chapter 1

**Note:** This is part two of a three-part series. The first part, The Replacement, is finished and posted here. This part is completed and I'll finish posting it over the next week. The third part, All That Remains, is currently in progress. Feedback is always welcome :)

**Please note that this was written BEFORE Dollhouse season one aired, hence the discrepancies from the show.**

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**Chapter One**

The sound of designer high-heeled shoes clicking on imported Italian marble floors filled the cold and sterile corridor. It was empty of any people except for Adelle DeWitt who walked with determination towards the records room in the Dollhouse. She needed to know; needed to be sure.

No one duped Adelle DeWitt and got away with it.

Pressing her index finger against a small screen, she waited through the electronic whirring noises for the small beep that indicated that the door was unlocked. Normally she'd feel a sense of pleasure from that, knowing that she alone had access to the restricted room, but she felt too much anger today to let her ego through. Storming into the room, she walked up to a small black console and pressed a few buttons.

"Voice identify: Adelle DeWitt."

"_Good afternoon, Dr. DeWitt,"_ a computerized voice responded. _"Shall I pull all recently archived footage?"_

"No," Adelle replied coldly. "Pull all archives re: Travers, Quentin. Organize by date and footage location."

After a brief moment, the computer replied, "_Three catalogs found. 12 September 1999, 26 October 1999, 13 March 2000."_

"Display 12 September 1999. Cue to business discussions."

After a few moments passed by a still image appeared on a large plasma screen on the wall before her. Adelle tapped a few buttons on the console and the video began to stream.

_Quentin Travers was relaxing back in the very same chair Buffy had been in just two days before. He was the perfect picture of cool confidence, staring down an equally confident Adelle. She hadn't heard of Quentin Travers nor of The Watcher's Council prior to his call, but with the money that he was throwing at her for a simple meeting, she figured that it might be well worth her time._

"_I'm going to cut right to the chase, Dr. DeWitt. I've heard that you're developing a program to hire men and women to serve as your own personal dolls. Dress them up how you like and make them do your bidding."_

_Adelle chuckled and exhaled a short breath through her nose, her grin cold and tight._

"_That's the crude version, though you're not far off. I'm going through a rigorous screening process with candidates as we speak, picking only the best of the best in the areas of physical being, stamina, ability to follow and comprehend orders, and submissiveness, of course."_

"_What if I told you that you could skip the rigorous process?"_

_Adelle regarded him, studying his face as she considered his question._

"_At what cost?" she asked evasively._

_Travers smiled conspiratorially and leaned forward in his seat._

"_The organization I belong to doesn't sponsor community events and bake sales. The Watcher's Council fights evil. The Slayer – a chosen girl with heightened physical strength and special training – is the instrument with which we fight. The Council always remains, but the Slayers . . . well, the Slayers change."_

"_They evolve?"_

"_No, they die," Travers answered easily. "They're not invincible, but they are more than a worthy adversary to any foe. When they do fall, however, their powers are passed on. A new Slayer is chosen and fights until it is time for another to be chosen again. It's been that way from the beginning."_

"_Sounds brutal."_

"_Survival of the fittest," Travers replied with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "There is no room for weakness when it comes to being the ultimate defender of good."_

"_You make her sound like a superhero," Adelle said, feigning disinterest. The gleam in her eye was unmistakable, however, and it was quite clear to Travers that he had her full attention._

"_For all intents and purposes, she is. There's no human that she can't take, no weapon that she can't master. She is a fighting machine, and when placed in the right hands, there is nothing that she can't do."_

_Adelle sat back in her chair once again, her gaze locked on Quentin's as she pondered their conversation._

"_Suppose this interested me. What exactly are you offering?"_

"_I'm offering you the world, Dr. DeWitt."_

"_And you're willing to hand over your precious Slayer without so much as a second thought as to what happens in your battle for the good of man once she's in our hands?"_

_Quentin took in a deep breath, his unwavering cool finally slipping just a little._

"_I'm afraid it's not quite as easy as handing her over. I do believe, however, that an agreement can be made."_

Adelle pushed a few buttons on the console and the image stopped streaming, the image frozen on Travers' conniving face. "Cue 26 October 1999." The still frame on the screen disappeared and a new image loaded. She tapped a few buttons and the new video began to stream.

"_I believe I've held up my end of the bargain, Mr. Travers. Your data has been uploaded as well as stored in our Cryo-bank. It will be accessible only as per our contracted terms, as requested. A living trust has been set up and annual deposits will be made as per the pre-approved payment schedule and terms."_

"_Excellent." He accepted the proffered manila envelope and stole a peek inside before closing it and placing it inside of his stainless steel briefcase._

"_I've showed you mine; now you show me yours," Adelle said, anxiously stepping around her desk to stand before him._

_Quentin smiled and reached into the briefcase, carefully pulling out several marked glass tubes in a clear box. He held it with both hands, lifting it ever so gingerly until it rested safely in Adelle's hands._

"_As promised: Slayer DNA. I trust that you'll be cautious in who you tell about this."_

"_It's a secret that will never leave my lips," Adelle replied, her focus transfixed on the blood-filled tubes. "Shame I couldn't meet your Slayer, though the videos that you showed were quite extraordinary."_

"_I'm afraid that she's quite unsuitable for travel at the moment."_

"_But she gave you her blood willingly?" Adelle questioned, though she really didn't care how he got it so long as it was in her hands now._

"_We took it from her while she slept," he said with a hint of an evil grin on his face, remembering the way a very comatose Faith winced as he roughly drew vial after vial of blood from her while her nurse at the hospital was on a cigarette break._

"_She didn't wake?" Adelle asked, finally looking at Quentin._

"_It was a very deep sleep," he answered after a moment, still grinning._

"_And you can assure me that this is the blood of a viable Slayer and not some hobo that you've met on the street?"_

"_Dr. DeWitt, what you hold in your hands is the DNA of the deadliest slayer I've had the opportunity to work with. If you can find better, well . . . it's the deal breaker. You can terminate our contract at your discretion."_

_Adelle smiled greedily, ignorant to Quentin's duplicitous scam. _

He didn't think, however, that she would ever run into Buffy Summers.

Adelle once again tapped a few buttons on the console, pausing the streaming video. She smiled to herself, her jaw clenched tight to keep back her anger at being lied to. Picking up a black phone from the console, she dialed quickly and brought the phone to the ear.

"_Brinks."_

"Topher, prep Echo, combat ready. We're going to visit an old friend of hers."

********************

A bright light filled the transfer chamber and suddenly Buffy was in the room with an eagerly waiting Willow and Xander. She quickly grabbed the trash can Willow was holding out for her and turned around, waiting for the inevitable sickness to come. Nothing happened though. After a moment she turned around and smiled, offering the can back to Willow.

"I must be getting good at this," she said, hoping that they wouldn't notice her puffy eyes and red nose.

Suddenly her eyes widened and she grabbed the can back just in time to wretch loudly into it. There was no time to spin around and get some privacy, and she knew for a fact that her friends hadn't had a chance to look away because she could practically hear Xander's grimace.

"I think I just saw a boot come out," he said quietly to Willow who was ready with a napkin when Buffy was done.

Buffy kindly put the can down behind her and took the napkin from Willow, wiping it across her mouth before tossing it into the can.

"Are you okay?" Willow asked Buffy, a look of concern on her face. She wasn't concerned about the puking; that was something all of the slayers were generally getting used to. She was worried about Buffy's mental state. As hard as Buffy had tried to mask it, it was obvious that she'd been crying. There was a sadness behind her eyes and Willow knew that it had to do with what happened between she and Faith. Or Echo. Or whatever they were referring to her as. Personally, she was sticking with the Faith-bot.

"I'll get by," Buffy said sadly, handing her bags over to Xander who took them with ease.

"I know you will, Buff. I'm just being the worried friend. Is there . . . do you want to talk about what happened in New York?"

"Eventually. There's a lot to discuss. AFH is just full of questionable moral concerns, but . . . can we deal with that tomorrow? I need to, I don't know, think about something else. Is it too much to ask for some yummy food and some quality time with my best friends?"

Willow and Xander smiled simultaneously, happy to feel needed by Buffy.

"You know I'll never turn down my girls. Or food," Xander quipped. "I'll take your bags to your room and you lovely ladies decide what treats we'll be delighting in. Add my vote to the Szechuan chicken list."

He left Willow and Buffy to discuss their dining plans and quickly ran up to Buffy's room, depositing her bags on a chair near the door. Just when he turned around to leave, a small piece of paper fell from the bag and onto the floor. He didn't mean to snoop; he'd had no intentions of reading or even looking at the paper. But when he saw Faith's handwriting, he knew he had to sneak a peek.

_B--_

_I'm sorry I couldn't be there when you woke up. I don't know what happened with us last night, and it's probably outta line to say that you rocked my world, but ya totally did. I felt something; I felt you. It felt like home. _

_--F_

Eyes wide and hands slightly trembling, Xander read the letter one, two, three more times before folding it neatly and placing it back in Buffy's bag. He didn't know what the extent of Buffy's secondary mission was while in New York, but he knew for certain that it wasn't to get cozy with the imposter Faith. Buffy's idea of information gathering was definitely more involved than he'd ever imagined!

Trying hard to pretend he'd never seen the letter, Xander quickly jogged down the stone steps and met Buffy and Willow in the kitchen to find them looking over take-out menus. He put on his best friendly smile and walked up to them, reading the menus over their shoulders.

He wanted to talk to Buffy about it; wanted to know if she was okay and what had happened. She had to speak about it on her own time though, and for now he'd respect that. Laying a comforting hand on her lower back, he was surprised when Buffy looked up at him over her shoulder. She smiled and thanked him wordlessly with a little nod before turning back to the menus.

If only she knew what he'd stumbled upon.

********************

Buffy awoke to find herself laying on the queen-sized bed in her darkened room, but she wasn't alone. Willow lay on one side of her and Xander on the other, keeping her safe and warm in the middle of the bed. Stealing a glance at her alarm clock, she saw that it was only 9:00pm. They'd hung out for several hours, eating food and watching films before apparently crashing on her bed. It was time well spent and they'd even helped her to temporarily forget about the whole Faith situation.

Now that she was alone with her thoughts though, it all came flooding back to her. Easing herself off of her bed, she made her way into the private adjoining bathroom and closed the door, holding it as it closed so that it wouldn't wake her friends. She put her hands on the sink and hung her head low, taking a few deep breaths before looking up at herself in the mirror, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

It was too much. All of it. She'd screwed up before she ever went to New York, but New York was the biggest screw up of all. What the hell had she been thinking? As soon as she saw Echo in the Dollhouse, somewhere deep inside of herself she knew what was going to happen. Being able to deal with a Faith that didn't put up a wall every time she got close and that wasn't hostile towards her?

It was the way it should've been from the very beginning.

The way it should've been once they'd made amends in Sunnydale.

Buffy had managed to screw that up though. It was so easy for her to slip back into old patterns when she saw Faith at Gigi's house. So easy to push down her feelings and replace them with rage. It had always pretty much been kiss or kill with them, but Buffy had never had the balls to try the former.

Scared little Buffy Summers. That's all that she was.

And now not only was she paying for that but Faith was paying for it too.

Letting the tears finally fall, Buffy took a few steps back until she felt the wall and slid down against it, burying her face in her hands. She wanted to fix this, needed to fix herself, but she didn't know how. Faith was gone, unwilling to even speak with her and resigned to the fact that they were just fucked up. And Echo, well . . . Echo was just a lie. A mistake.

Buffy didn't know how long she sat there crying until she finally heard a tentative knock at the door. She quickly swiped her hands over her face and brushed away the tears, but whoever was out there wasn't waiting for an answer. She looked up to see the door slowly open to reveal a concerned looking Xander.

He regarded her for a moment, looking back out into the dark bedroom before slipping into the bathroom and quietly closing the door behind him. He didn't speak; instead he just walked up to Buffy and slid down the wall next to her, pulling her into his arms before he was even fully sitting.

Buffy immediately began to cry harder, the tears coming easily. She buried her face in Xander's strong embrace and let her tears drench his shirt. He didn't care; he'd do anything to take Buffy's tears away. He rocked her slowly, whispering soft shh's to her until she finally managed to calm down several long minutes later.

They sat in silence for a while, Buffy clinging to him as he gently stroked her hair. Seeing her like that broke his heart. She always wore such a strong and stony exterior that it was hard to see how vulnerable she was underneath it all.

Buffy finally loosened her grip a little and rested her cheek on Xander's bicep, sighing loudly.

"I screwed up, Xan."

"I know," he answered, placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

"Faith wouldn't talk to me before I left. She was so angry, and really, who could blame her? I don't know why she and I always get it wrong. It's just . . . I don't know, something in her sets me off. Always has and always will. I guess I was just hoping that maybe we could turn that from a bad thing into a good thing. All the usual life drama aside, we got along pretty well when we were in LA before we came to Scotland."

"I think it's probably hard to explain things from my point of view, not looking at either of you in the Slayer way that Giles does or in the Wicca and often Jealous Best Friend way that Wills does."

"Try?" Buffy asked, looking up at him with still teary eyes.

Xander shrugged, looking straight ahead. "Opposite sides of the same coin, Buff. When you're not busy fighting it, you and Faith are eerily similar. Maybe it's a Slayer thing, I don't know. But as just two people, just Buffy and Faith the girls . . . I don't know. Kindred spirits or something, underneath all of the frontery, anyhow.

They stayed silent for a few minutes, Buffy digesting Xander's words while he tried to think of a better way to say it.

"I don't know what I was thinking in New York. Willow told me to get close if I could, and I think I stopped being sensible at some point in there because I let it get out of control. Lost my resolve; fell for the lie, hook, line, and sinker."

"Echo was programmed to be fallen for; a perfect ruse. From what Willow says it was a really clever lie. Made to be whatever you want."

"Yeah, it was," Buffy said, chuckling sadly and letting more silent tears fall.

Xander didn't say anything for a few minutes. He held her tight, still stroking her hair, until he finally asked,

"Was it what you wanted?"

Buffy thought about it for a few moments before answering, "I thought it was. Everything I never knew I always wanted, right? Isn't that what they say?"

"Doesn't matter what _they_ say; what do _you_ say?"

"I don't know," Buffy said, shrugging almost unnoticeably. "It felt right, like it was how it always should've been. It just wasn't with the right person," she said with a self-deprecating smile.

"Sounds like a great illusion, Buff. You can't help having fell for it. I . . ." Xander paused, choosing his words carefully, "I saw the letter, Buffy. I think I can piece together what happened."

Buffy's tear-rimmed eyes immediately widened.

"What do you mean?" she asked cautiously, gauging what exactly he knew.

"The letter. From the Faith/Echo person. I saw what she said, about the rocking of her world."

Buffy's brow furrowed as she completely disregarding the part about Xander knowing about her extracurricular bedroom activities.

"What letter are we talking about?"

"The one in your bag?" Xander said warily as he watched Buffy sit up.

Buffy's eyes were suddenly wide and she sprung to her feet, half way out the door before Xander could even get up from his spot on the floor. She ran over to the chair where her bags were still deposited and began to fumble through them, stopping only when she had the small sheet of paper in her hand. Unable to read it in the dark of the room, she headed back to the bathroom where Xander was waiting for her in the doorway.

She quickly poured over the words again and again, struggling to understand exactly what it meant. If Faith – no, Echo – if Echo had written that in the morning, it didn't make sense. She wouldn't have been programmed to be Faith any longer. She was being recalled to the Dollhouse, her mission was done, yet she'd written as if she was Faith.

Buffy idly wondered what Adelle and the programmers would think about that but a soft hand on her shoulder pulled her from her thoughts.

"You're acting like this is the first time you read that," Xander said, paying close attention to Buffy's face as she stared at the letter.

"It is," she said quietly, her eyebrows furrowed. "She must've put it there while I was sleeping. Hid it, even. She . . ." Buffy paused, a look of realization on her face, "she made sure I wouldn't find it until I left. She knew I'd go after her if I'd found it."

"What are you thinking, Buff?" he asked, still studying her face.

"I needed to talk to Faith before I left for New York but she wouldn't listen to me. Now I have a reason to _make_ her listen." She finally looked from the letter up to Xander's concerned face. "Xan . . . I hate to ask, but . . ."

"You're gonna need my help," he said, a knowing smile on his face.

********************

"Ah shit. Another dead end," Faith said, adjusting her earpiece so that she could hear better. "This one's crafty, Giles. Saw me coming a mile away. You hearing all this?"

"_Loud and clear,"_ Giles answered through the earpiece. _"Perhaps it's time we ask Marina for her assistance . . ."_

"No, not yet. You know these girls spook when we use the force against them."

"_I'd hardly call a locater and transportation spell 'the force', Faith. As you've repeatedly told me, this particular slayer is crafty."_

Faith sighed and rubbed her hands over her face, finally feeling how tired she was. She'd been after the same Slayer for almost three days now without more than a simple break for food here or there. Just when she'd get near the girl, she'd escape her grasp and disappear for hours at a time. Growing up on the streets of Taiwan gave the girl a distinct advantage, but Faith's wasn't a slug either when it came to being streetwise.

"Just . . . just give me one more day, Giles. I'll get her, got my word on that."

"_Are you positive? I've got Marina on standby . . ."_

"Tell her to take a break, Giles. I can't bring this kid in by tomorrow she can zap her to wherever the hell we need her to be."

"_Very well then. Perhaps you should take a few hours rest. You haven't slept in days."_

"No rest for the wicked, man. I can sleep when I'm dead," she replied easily, looking around the alley.

Suddenly a gust of wind swept through the alley, kicking up the loose debris on the ground. Faith watched with interest as the air began to crackle alongside both buildings on either side of her. Suddenly a jolt of energy sent her flying backwards but she quickly jumped up to her feet in a fighting stance, ready to attack. That's when she saw a figure standing there among the mystical haze. She squinted her eyes, trying to figure out who it was.

"Luxian?" she asked, her voice low and hoarse. Of course it would be too easy for the Slayer she'd been chasing to land right in her proverbial lap.

But then she noticed something. Long blonde hair.

Faith's eyes narrowed as the girl retched quietly and then stood up and turned around to face her.

_Buffy._

"Faith," Buffy began and Faith's eyes immediately widened.

"Giles," Faith said aloud, her eyes locked on Buffy's.

"Has it really been that long that you don't remember my name?" Buffy asked, confused. "It's Buffy."

"Giles!" Faith said again.

"Buf-fy," Buffy enunciated.

"_There's no need to yell, Faith,"_ Giles replied through the earpiece.

"Get Marina. Get me outta here."

"Who's Marina?" Buffy asked, tilting her head to the side. "Have you been drinking?"

"_She's already returned to her room," _Giles began._ "She'll be back shortly and I can . . ."_

"I need an exit, now!" Faith said, her jaw clenched tightly.

"Wait, Faith, I need to talk with you," Buffy said, immediately figuring out what was going on.

"Let me know when you've got a location," Faith said quietly to Giles.

She regarded Buffy for one more moment, shaking her head slightly in disbelief before turning around and hauling ass out of the alley.

"Faith, wait! Shit!" Buffy yelled, quickly running after her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note:** Just in case anyone missed the note in the first chapter, you'll need to read The Replacement to make any sense of this story. Probably should've made that clearer; my apologies. Thanks to anyone who reviewed :)

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**Chapter Two**

**(Suggested music: Ocean Avenue by Yellowcard)**

"Faith, wait! Shit!" Buffy yelled, doing her best to run after Faith in shoes that weren't quite appropriate for high speed foot chases.

By the time she reached the end of the alley and stood in the open street there was no sign of which way Faith had went. The street was busy with pedestrians and cars and absolutely no one was paying her any attention. She looked left and right hoping to catch a glimpse of Faith and wasn't quite disappointed to see an older woman grumbling while picking up her groceries from the ground. Buffy immediately smiled, knowing what direction Faith had gone in.

She quickly jogged towards the old woman, keeping her eyes peeled for any more signs of Hurricane Faith. Just as she was about to stop and ask the woman which way Faith had continued on to, she caught a glimpse of long dark hair zipping around a corner into another alley. Of course this meant she wasn't going to get her Girl Scout badge for helping the elderly but she had more important things to do.

Doing her best to dodge the other pedestrians, Buffy finally made it to the alley and saw Faith at the other end of it scaling a tall chain link fence. Faith must've heard her approach because she looked back, her eyes widening when she saw Buffy quickly approaching the fence.

"Fuck off B, I don't wanna fight with you!" she yelled as she hopped over the other side of the fence landing squarely on her feet.

Buffy ran up to her then, separated only by the metal fencing. She entwined her fingers through the fence and grasped it tightly as she looked into Faith's cold eyes.

"I don't want to fight either," Buffy said, taking in a few deep breaths. "Just talk. I just want to talk."

Faith regarded her for a few moments before shaking her head and smiling icily. "We don't 'just talk' and you know that better than I do. Fucking or fighting, _that's_ what we do, Buffy, and you sure as shit ain't here to get into my pants. Not when ya got your little slayer commander back waiting for you in your room."

Buffy blushed a dark shade of red but promised herself that she wouldn't let Faith get the best of her. It was exactly what the girl wanted. How the heck had Faith found out about Satsu anyhow?

"You don't know anything about that," Buffy said quietly, her eyes pleading with Faith to just be open with her for even a single moment.

"And I don't wanna know either," Faith said, her eyes locked on Buffy's as she began taking a few steps backwards. "Face it, B. You and me? Never gonna be friends."

"Even if that's true there's still something I need to talk to you about," Buffy said, stepping impossibly closer to the fence.

Faith just smiled sadly, still slowly stepping backwards. "Have your people call my people," she said and winked, then turned around and took off running again.

"Ugh!" Buffy grunted aloud before proceeding to scale the large fence. When she landed on the other side she immediately took off after Faith, moving as fast as her shorter legs would take her. Arriving out in another busy street, she looked around and found Faith walking casually along a sidewalk across the way.

Had she really thought that Buffy wouldn't chase her beyond the fence? Clearly she didn't know that Buffy's persistence rivaled her own stubbornness.

Slowing her pace to a speedwalk as not to draw attention to herself from the passersby, Buffy began to close the distance between her and Faith, internally cheering that Faith hadn't realized yet that she was following. She was, of course, so distracted in her sneakery that she didn't see the bike messenger that narrowly avoided hitting her by swerving out into the traffic-filled street. Faith turned when she heard the loud honking and instantly saw Buffy, her eyes widening in disbelief.

"Jesus Christ!" Faith cursed to herself as she once again picked up her pace, peeking over her shoulder to find Buffy hot on her tail in pursuit. "Shoo fly, don't bother me!"

"There's something I really need to talk to you about!" Buffy yelled as she dodged pedestrians.

"I already told ya I ain't listening!"

"This isn't about _us,_ it's about _you._ You need to listen Faith, it's important!"

"Giles!" Faith yelled, trying to get his attention through the earpiece once again. "How's that exit looking?"

"_Marina's on her way back, Faith. Are you in a bad situation?"_

"Worse than you could imagine!" she answered, leaping over a garbage bin on the sidewalk.

Buffy was following too closely behind and didn't see the can until it was too late. She tried to jump over it as Faith had but her shoes caught the top, sending her flying forward. Instinctively she put her hands out and rolled, somersaulting quickly until she was able to leap to her feet again.

"Quit complaining to Giles and just let me talk to you for two minutes, Faith!" she said, quickly beginning to catch up to the girl after her little stumble.

"Quit following me and I won't have to complain to him!"

"Quit . . . being a jerk!" Buffy retorted, unable to come up with anything else.

Faith didn't say anything in response. Instead she grabbed two oranges as she ran past a fruit vendor and spun around, whipping them at Buffy as she jogged backwards. Buffy held up her arms and blocked the flying fruit, giving Faith a look of indignation when the assault was over.

"You're throwing fruit at me?" Buffy asked in disbelief as she continued her pursuit.

"Least it wasn't a weapon!" Faith yelled, quickly turning down another alley.

Buffy followed, instantly noticing that the alley was devoid of any people or conveniently placed fruit stands.

"Whatcha gonna do now, Faithy? All outta things to throw!" Buffy taunted proudly, forgetting that she was supposed to be getting Faith to talk to her.

Faith looked anxiously around and realized that she was right. In a moment of panic, anxious to find something to throw, she unconsciously pulled the earpiece from her ear and tossed it behind her with breaking speed, cheering internally when she heard Buffy grunt as it thwapped her in the forehead. "Ha!" she yelled.

Buffy fumbled around and caught the earpiece as it bounced off of her forehead, smiling widely as she observed it in her hand. "Ha HA!" she exclaimed loudly, attaching the earpiece to her own ear.

Faith looked back to see what Buffy was going on about, instantly seeing the earpiece now attached to her ear. She reached up and felt her own ear, realizing she'd thrown away her connection to Giles. "Shit!"

"Giles!" Buffy yelled, adjusting the earpiece so that she could hear him.

"_Faith?"_

"No, it's Buffy. Giles, you need to tell Faith to stop running and hear me out."

"_For what reason?"_

"Because I have something I need to say to her."

Meanwhile, Faith was digging into the pocket of her jeans, pulling out the cellphone which she'd turned off earlier that day when Buffy had called her. She hit the power button and waited to get a signal, eager to get Giles back on the phone.

"_Buffy, I know you may not like it but Faith is at a point in her life where she can make her own decisions."_

"Listen, I get that the two of you are all buddy-buddy now and that's great, but this is important!" she exclaimed, getting out of breath now.

"_Perhaps if you gave her some time and space she wouldn't feel so pressured into making a decision . . ."_

"Giles!" she interrupted, at her breaking point. "It's just . . . when I went to New York on a mission, I found Faith."

There was a very pregnant pause in the conversation before Giles finally said, "Good Lord, Buffy, I've always know you were an impressionable girl but I never thought . . . was it the dancing chaps, with their tambourines and robes? Erm, hare krishnas?"

"I . . . what?" Buffy asked, confused. "I found Faith, not religion. Thanks for the vote of confidence though. I thought I saw Faith in New York but then Willow said that you had her on a mission somewhere. We investigated, Willow and I . . . Giles, I either met Faith's twin, her less crude clone, or someone wearing a _great_ Faith suit."

She waited for Giles to respond in some way, to let her know that he was on her side and would help her speak to Faith, but instead he put her on hold when he got another call. It was Faith, of course, calling from her cellphone.

"Not to be all demandy but where the hell is my exit, Giles?" Faith said, still running through alleys.

"_It's coming very shortly, Faith. Stand by."_

"No exits!" Buffy yelled anxiously. "And by the way, when did you learn how to conference call?"

"_I didn't. I think I may have hit the wrong button . . . bloody phones."_

"Whatever. Giles, I don't need long with her. Five minutes. Just . . . two minutes!" Buffy pleaded, not making any ground on Faith.

"Giles, how long do I have?" Faith asked, ignoring Buffy's please.

"_Ten seconds, Faith."_

"Why am I fighting so hard to have you listen to me when it has_ nothing to do with me _and everything to do with you?" Buffy yelled to Faith, hoping her last hope that the girl would listen.

Faith halted to a stop and spun around, coming face to face with Buffy who barely was able to stop in time and not crash into her.

"Because you're Buffy and you always make it about you," Faith answered, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "Later, B." A swirl of green light surrounded her and just like that, Faith was gone.

Buffy put her hands on her hips and hung her head, trying her best to compose herself. How had things gone from bad to worse since that morning? It was almost unfathomable.

"_I'm sorry, Buffy,"_ Giles said quietly, his voice full of regret.

Buffy shrugged as she stood alone in the alley, still unwilling to give in to defeat.

"I get it," she said, taking a deep breath. "Had to stand by your girl."

Pulling the earpiece from her ear, she regarded it for a moment before tossing it aside into a full dumpster. She stood quietly for a moment or two gathering her thoughts when an idea hit her. Quickly reaching into the pocket of her denim jacket, she pulled out her cellphone and dialed a familiar number before placing the phone to her ear.

"_Buff?"_ Xander said from the other line.

"Yeah, it's me. Xan, have Siobhan and the young witches trace Faith. I'm gonna need you to transport me to her."

"_Did she jump?" _he asked, his fingers busy typing away on the console before him as the room burst into a flurry of activity.

"Yeah, and I need to get to her before she realizes I can follow."

"_No problem. Siobhan already has her location locked down and portals are engaged. Fifteen seconds, Buffy."_

"Xander, listen, I . . . I don't know how to thank you," Buffy said, her voice quiet.

"_You don't need to. You know there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do for my girls. If you need anything else . . ."_

"I will," Buffy said with a soft smile, answering before he could finish his sentence.

"_Five seconds, Buff. Go get your girl."_

A moment later Buffy was surrounded by a green light and suddenly found herself standing on a long pier. She looked around and found Faith standing with her back towards her, her elbows resting on the wooden railing as she looked out into the clear blue water.

"Fancy meeting you here," Buffy said as she slowly approached Faith, mimicking her position.

"Yeah, right," Faith mumbled under her breath, not bothering to look over at Buffy. "You're really not gonna leave this be, are ya?"

"No," Buffy said quietly. "Some things can be left if that's what you really want, but there's definitely an issue to be dealt with."

"You gonna keep following me?"

"Afraid so," Buffy said casually.

"Thought you'd say that," Faith said. "Giles? Get me to a safe zone." She lifted her hand and showed Buffy the cell phone with the call still connected to Giles.

"I'll just have Xander send me to you."

"Magically enhanced safe room, B. No one in or out for 24 hours. By the time the day is up Marina will have found a way to mask me."

"All you have to do, Faith, is let me tell you about what happened in New York. Something fishy is going on and you're never . . ." she paused, sighing deeply as a green light engulfed Faith and she was suddenly alone, ". . . gonna give me a shot."

She closed her eyes and leaned down, resting her forehead on her hands still grasping the railing. She was frustrated, upset, and now Faith was gonna make sure she'd never be able to find her again. How was she supposed to tell her about Echo? How was she supposed to tell her she was sorry? How was she supposed to tell her that she'd fallen in . . .

The sound of her phone ringing pulled Buffy from her thoughts. She flicked it open and held it to her ear, not saying anything.

"_Buffy?"_ Willow's voice rang out on the other end.

"Hey Wills," Buffy said, sniffling as she fought back her tears.

"_What's going on? Are you with Faith?"_

"I am emphatically without Faith. I was trying to tell her about New York and she just up and disappeared."

"_That's not a problem, Buffy. We can send you to her."_ Her voice was concerned but cautiously optimistic.

"Not this time, Wills. She had Giles send her to a safe house. No one gets in or out for 24 hours. I think I've lost her, Willow."

And finally the tears began to slowly trickle down her cheeks. There was no more fighting them. She'd fucked up, badly, and now she couldn't fix it. Faith wouldn't let her. Maybe they weren't meant to be fixed. Maybe Faith was right after all.

Willow was quiet for a few moments, unsure of what to say to her friend that could ease her heartache, but then an idea hit her. But could it work? Of course it could work!

"_I can get you in, Buffy. Just, umm . . . hold onto your lunch."_

Before Buffy could protest she felt a surge of energy blast through her and then all was dark.

********************

The Black Lincoln Town Car finally reached the end of the dirt path, stopping in a discreet opening with a small cottage in the center of it. The cottage was completely surrounded by tall trees and brush, completely hidden from the outside world unless you knew exactly where to look for it.

And of course, Adelle knew exactly where to find it.

After observing the cottage for a few short minutes through the black tinted windows, she finally stepped out of the car, followed closely by Echo and Sierra. She hated leaving the city almost as much as she hated liars but there were matters that needed to be tended to. The three women walked up to the front door of the cabin and Adelle stepped forward, Echo and Sierra on either side of her. They heard some shuffling noises and finally the front door opened, revealing a very much alive and kicking Quentin Travers.

"No . . ." he mumbled, his eyes wide with fear.

"Oh yes, Mr. Travers. You've been a very naughty boy."

"What are they doing here?" he asked, eying Echo and Sierra suspiciously as he took a few steps backwards.

Adelle simply pushed forward until she was well within the cottage and the door was closed behind them.

"They're here to collect, Mr. Travers. It seems as though you've breached our contract. Surely such an indiscretion can't go unpunished."

"There was no breach. I promised you slayer DNA and you got it," he said defensively.

"Yes, I did. Echo is a fine specimen, our best active without a doubt."

"I don't see what the problem is then."

"The problem, Mr. Travers, is that you told me she was the best slayer, that I'd find no better. I believe that I've found better, and now if you'd like to continue in your second shot at life, I'd suggest that you cooperate and help me find her as well." Adelle pulled a chair out from the quaint kitchen table and sat down, looking up at Travers expectantly.

Travers sighed deeply and regarded her for a moment before sitting down opposite her.

"Buffy Summers," he said flatly. He didn't even need her to confirm his suspicion, but she did with a nod of her head. "For all intents and purposes, Echo was cloned from the blood of the actual slayer; the active slayer line. Buffy Summers is . . . an anomaly."

"An anomaly that you deliberately kept from me when we made our deal," Adelle said coldly.

"It seems though, that our deal wasn't all that it was meant to be, Dr. DeWitt. Would you mind explaining _her_?" he asked, nodding over at Sierra.

Adelle smiled a tight smile, her eyes narrowing as she stared at him. "Our deal has been carried through to completion. You asked us to keep your DNA in our cryobank, which we did. You asked us to do a full read of your memory and personality and store it, and we did. And you asked us to clone you and implant you with said memory and personality in the event of your death, and we did. Your monies have been paid, your instructions followed; I'd say that's a deal kept."

Travers grinned smugly and looked up at Sierra.

"She wasn't part of the deal."

Sierra stepped forward, poised to strike, but Adelle held up her hand and signaled for her to back down.

"Which is one of the only other reasons that you're alive right now, Mr. Travers. I need more samples like Echo and Sierra. Strong girls. You had a plethora of DNA samples stored at our facility – which you rightfully reclaimed, of course. How many more girls are like them?"

Travers shook his head, agitated.

"Satsu Miura should never have been cloned. She was not a slayer; just one of many potential girls in line. The possibility of her being called was one in several thousand. If your claim that she's strong like Echo is true, then something has happened with the slayer line that I'm not aware of."

"You'll need to find out," Adelle said easily.

Travers laughed loudly, sitting back comfortably in his chair now.

"And how would you propose that I do that? I can't very well appear out of thin air; they think that I'm dead!"

"And so you shall be again if you can't get me more samples. This is a very serious breach of contract. We own your life," she said, enunciating the last words slowly, carefully.

"I can't get you slayers, Dr. DeWitt, when I don't know what's happened. I might be able to help you find Buffy Summers though. Find her and all of the other pieces should fall into place."

Adelle regarded him for a moment and then smiled. "I'm all ears, Mr. Travers."

"Rupert Giles. He was her Watcher. He'll know where to find her and what's happened to the slayer line. If he survived the massacre of the potentials and their watchers, he'll have all of the answers that we need."

"And how do you suppose we go about contacting him?" she asked anxiously.

Travers could only smile, amused. This was what he missed about his Council days.

"You say that you know about Buffy Summers? Then Buffy Summers knows about you. We don't need to contact good old Rupert; he'll contact you."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because it's what they do, Dr. DeWitt. They're the good guys; the really, really good guys. If Miss Summers or any of her friends know that the other slayer, Faith, has been cloned, they'll be back before you can miss them."

"And if they think that Echo is a threat?"

"I suppose they'll do to her what they tried to do with Faith when she stepped out of line; they'll try to eliminate her."

Echo's eyes narrowed as she listened to the conversation, a chill running up and down her spine. She wouldn't let herself be eliminated no matter the cost. She didn't remember her last mission, not in detail anyhow. She felt something though, and every time she closed her eyes she saw blonde hair and green eyes.

This Buffy Summers that they were speaking of had something to do with these memories, and though Echo wasn't sure what, she knew that the girl had awakened something inside of her. For the first time in as long as she could recall, she felt alive. She felt that she had a purpose.

And she wouldn't let anyone take that away from her.

She looked over at Sierra and they shared a knowing glance.

The time was coming for them to stand up. She only hoped Adelle didn't catch on before she was programmed to forget.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Buffy landed with a thud in the middle of a darkened room and instantly scrambled to her hands and knees. She frantically crawled with one hand out until she reached a wall and proceeded to empty the remaining contents of her stomach.

If Willow was one thing, it was accurate.

Adjusting her eyes to see better in the room lit only by a small digital alarm clock, she picked out what was possibly a light switch on the wall. Walking over with her hands outstretched to stop her bumping into anything along the way, she was surprised when her hand came into contact with something warm and soft. Suddenly the light flicked on and she found Faith standing directly in front of her, her hand on one of Faith's round breasts.

She quickly pulled her hand back and waited for the flirty innuendos to start but they never came. Instead Faith narrowed her eyes and looked at her with anger written across her face.

"Fuckin lying sack of . . . Giles said no one in or out for twenty-four hours. How the hell did you get in here?"

"Willow. Her magic is the uber kind."

"Yeah, well now we're uber stuck together for a whole fucking day. Didn't . . . fuck, can't you see that I don't wanna be around ya, B? Have I not made that perfectly clear?"

Faith took a step away and turned around, walking through the small house and randomly flicking on lights as she explored. Buffy followed tentatively behind her, always a few steps back.

"Crystal clear, actually. And I get it, really I do. I don't know that I'd want to talk to me either, but I promise I'll get out of your hair once I talk to you about New York."

"Not in here. No way am I gonna sit through a Buffy lecture when I ain't got a way to escape. Listen, call Red. She put you in here and she can get you out. I'll call you when I'm out and I'll listen, got my word on that. I just can't do this in here."

Faith turned and faced Buffy then, her eyes pleading with her to just cooperate.

Buffy saw so much in those deep brown eyes then that she knew she couldn't press the matter any further. Nodding solemnly, she opened her cell phone and dialed, holding the phone up to her ear. She waited and waited but the line didn't connect. Finally the phone beeped and she looked down at the ominous symbol on the screen.

"No signal," she said aloud. "This phone is supposed to work like everywhere on the planet. Where are we?"

"Shit, I shoulda thought about that," Faith said as she pulled out her own cell phone and pressed a few buttons only to the get the same result. "We're between dimensions, safest place to hide from any baddies chasing ya. Regular cell phones won't work but Giles had Marina magic-up that earpiece. Here, give it to me." She held out her hand expectantly, waiting for Buffy to hand over the small gizmo.

Buffy could only bite her lip nervously as she looked up at Faith's face.

"I don't have it."

"Course ya do, I saw ya using it. Hand it over, I know how to work it and I can have Giles call Red . . ."

"It's in the alley somewhere. I . . . I threw it away after Giles helped you portal hop."

Faith clenched her jaw shut tightly, biting back all of the things she wanted to yell at Buffy just then. Doing her best to keep her cool, she said through her clenched teeth,

"Invisible line: my side of the house, your side of the house. Just gotta make it one day. Still got my word, we'll talk when we're outta here. Just gimme space."

She turned on her heel and walked into the room just to her side, closing the door behind her.

Buffy stood there for a few minutes taking everything in when a new sense of resolve kicked in. She _needed_ to tell Faith that she had some kind of weird clone walking around New York city and she wasn't going to wait until Faith had the opportunity to run away from her again. The old cat and mouse game was getting really tired.

Taking a deep breath and steeling herself, Buffy put her hand on the door knob and turned it, freely allowing herself into the room. Faith, who was sitting on the bed taking off her boots, looked up with an incredulous look upon her face. She watched as Buffy pulled a chair over and put it up against the door, sitting on it so that they were effectively blocked in.

"Have you lost your mind?" asked Faith.

"Probably. My mother once told me never to corner a wild animal but I . . ."

"That what I am to you? A wild animal?" She stood up from the bed, looking more menacing than ever.

Buffy sighed and rubbed her temples, trying hard not to let the situation get out of control.

"Stop interrupting me and I will get to the point and get out of your hair. I'm tired of playing this game, Faith. You hate me and I get that, not even gonna try to make up for it because you're being so damned stubborn, but you _will_ listen to me for two minutes."

"Is this the part where I fall in line? Let little old Buffy Summers get her way?" At Buffy's glare, Faith held up her hands and gestured for Buffy to get on with it already.

"When I was in New York, I thought I saw you. I followed you – or who I thought was you -- to some top secret building and Willow got me in with a fake appointment. It's not some kind of normal business place; they train people like puppets, Faith. To be and do whatever they're needed for."

"Sounds like a fancy version of an escort service." She ignored the way Buffy's eyes widened slightly and continued. "So what does this have to do with me?"

"Just listen, I'm getting to it."

"Can ya hurry? Not exactly the most patient person if ya haven't figured that out already."

"Ugh, Faith!" Buffy yelled, annoyed. "Stop interrupting!"

"Or what?" Faith asked, a hint of challenge in her voice.

"Or I'll have the less stubborn Faith kick your ass!" Buffy blurted out. Seeing Faith's confused look, she sighed again and tried to clarify. "I'll save you the boring details: she's you, or a clone of you or something like that. We . . . we haven't worked out all of the details yet."

Faith stared at Buffy, tilting her head to the side a bit as she studied her face. She certainly wasn't expecting to hear that. She'd been threatened lots in her life, but never had someone threatened to have her kick her own ass.

"Think Andy's been making you watch too many of those sci-fi movies."

"I've made it a habit to not watch TV with him. That's what we do to the slayers that miss slay-training."

"Punishment by nerd. Harsh."

Buffy shrugged, "We do what we have to do."

"Well, I think ya hit your head or something. It was probably just someone that looked like me. Lotsa hot brunettes in the world," Faith said and flopped down on the bed, seemingly unaffected and not all that concerned.

"She did look like you. Exactly like you, in fact. Faith, she _is you. _Willow told me to get as close as I could and I did. I posed as a client and they arranged for me to meet with Echo – your look-alike."

"What do you mean 'arranged for you to meet?'" Faith interrupted. "Was it like, a date?"

"No," Buffy said all too eagerly. "They arranged a casual encounter out on the street and let the meeting go from there. And true to form, we went for something to eat. She tucked away her meal and most of mine, just like the good old days."

Buffy remembered the few times they'd patrolled together in Sunnydale and the way that Faith would always drag her out for something to eat afterwards. If there was one thing Faith was good at, it was eating more than she should be able to and never letting it physically show.

Faith wasn't sharing the same fond stroll down memory lane though. Something instantly struck her as odd. She played Buffy's words back over again in her mind and it finally dawned on her.

"You tellin me this Echo chick – lame name, by the way – is exactly like me too? Well if she's a clone or something, how would she know how to act?"

Buffy looked away from Faith's questioning eyes then, a sudden feeling of anxiety coming over her. If the questioning continued the way it was, Faith was going to find out about what happened. The worst part was that Buffy couldn't lie about it. She could hide it, but not outright lie. She and Faith had hurt each other enough over the years; lies would only add to that hurt.

"They program the actives there depending on their mission. She knew how to act because she was programmed to be like you," she said quietly, playing with the hem of her shirt.

"And how did they get the 411 on me?" Faith asked, her voice low and ominous.

"I gave it to them," Buffy answered after hesitating for a moment. She finally looked up, a worried look upon her face.

Faith's eyes instantly narrowed, her jaw clenching tightly as she regarded Buffy. She stood up from the bed again and began to take slow steps towards the girl, a dangerous air around her.

"Sounds to me like you found the perfect replacement for me, B. You tell them to make her follow your every order? Never to doubt you or to call your bullshit? Cos that's all you want, B: a nice complacent Faith-doll for you to mold exactly as you like and do exactly what you say."

"That's not true," Buffy said, tears filling her eyes but not falling. This was not how this was supposed to be going!

"Bullshit," Faith said evenly, still approaching her.

"It's not. I thought she was you at first; I was convinced that Giles was doing something top-secret with you and I had to find out what."

"Because you always need to be in charge," Faith said matter-of-factly, accusingly.

Buffy shook her head, "No, because . . ." she took a deep breath and stood up, ". . . after what Giles put you up to with Genevieve, I couldn't put it past him to have you doing something else equally horrible."

"And I'd do it cos I'm nothing better than a second-rate slayer and a cold-blooded killer, right?" Faith asked, still slowly approaching Buffy.

"No," Buffy answered, shaking her head again. "You changed. You went to prison and changed who you were and Giles threw you headlong into that situation without thinking how it could screw everything up that you worked so hard to right."

"Giles needed a job done and he knew he could count on me to do it," Faith defended. "Where the hell were you? Out robbing banks and pretending to be the hero?"

"He _used_ you, Faith."

"And I knew it, was fine with it. I knew the sitch and I went along with it, which is probably more than you can say about your new pal Faith Number Two."

It was Buffy's turn to be angry now. Faith was completely getting _everything_ wrong and she wasn't listening to anything she was trying to tell her. Now she was starting to wish she'd listened to Faith's request that they not discuss this here because she was feeling more trapped then ever.

"She's not my pal. Until we figure out what we need to do with AFH and the people there, I'll have nothing to do with her, and once we take care of it, I'll never see her again."

"And that just kills you, doesn't it, B? Your new and compliant Faith gone with the wind, and all you're left with is me who is sick and tired of your fucking hypocrisy and done dealing with you."

"You know what, Faith?" Buffy began, standing up from the chair and swiping angrily away at a few tears that had escaped her in her frustration. "I'm done too. Done trying to apologize, done trying to deal. I guess it was too much to hope for friendship; you know, the kind of friendship where people screw up and forgive each other because they're _friends._"

"Fuck off with that shit, Buffy. You couldn't offer that to me years ago so why should we try it now?"

"Umm, because we're older, wiser, more mature?" Buffy threw out.

"How about cos the shoe's on the other foot and you can't _stand_ being the one that screwed up?"

And that hit a chord within Buffy, rung true even though she was trying so hard to believe her own words. What it also made her realize, though, was that maybe this was how it had to be. She and Faith were oil and water, or maybe more accurately, fire and gasoline. They couldn't be around one another for too long without igniting.

It was always a state of emergency when it came to the two of them. Maybe it was time to call it what it was and move on.

Sighing deeply, completely resigned to the fact now that they weren't destined to be friends or anything more, Buffy turned around and moved the chair from in front of the door. Hand on the door handle, she was about to walk out of the room when Faith's words stopped her dead in her tracks.

"What was it like, fucking her? Did you close your eyes and pretend it was me? Pretend that it was my lips, my fingers, my tongue?"

Buffy didn't move, couldn't think, completely frozen in her spot at the door. How had Faith . . . was it that obvious?

"Did she whisper sweet nothings in your ear, B?" Faith continued. "Tell you everything you wanted to hear just so that you'd spread those pristine thighs?"

"It wasn't about that," Buffy whispered, her voice thick with tears. "I just wanted you to listen to me; to let your walls down for two minutes. And she did, and it was so easy . . ."

"What?" Faith asked, confused. "What are ya . . . what does Satsu have to do with me?"

Buffy's eyes immediately widened. Faith was talking about Satsu, not Echo, but Buffy had given it away. Maybe Faith hadn't noticed the slip up. Maybe she'd . . .

" . . . you've gotta be fucking kidding me," Faith said after a moment, fully aware of Buffy's slip-up. "You fucked her. Me. What the fuck, Buffy! Is our relationship not already fucked up enough? Now you're running around having someone program my supposed clone to fuck you? Is that what it was all about?"

Buffy quickly spun around, coming face to face with an angry and confused Faith.

"No, I told them to make her love me!"

********************

Giles dialed Faith's number once again but got the same result as the previous twenty times: _ "The number you are calling is temporarily out of service. Please try your call again later."_ He sighed and hung up, ready to call again, when Marina's voice interrupted him.

"You know as well as I do that her cell phone won't work in there."

"Yes, I know," he said, finally conceding defeat as he sat down in the large leather office chair. "It was just a shot in the dark."

"Without the earpiece she's completely out of contact for twenty-four hours, Giles, just as you had me arrange. Not even my magic is strong enough to break the spell I used."

"But mine is," came a voice from across the room. Giles and Marina looked up to find Willow standing there with a guilty smile on her face. "Before you ask, I can't get Faith out of there. That's a spell that can't be done. I was, however, able to send Buffy to her via their slayer connection."

Giles regarded her for a moment, seemingly unsurprised to see her there before him.

"As a seasoned Wicca . . . no, as a seasoned veteran of the tumultuous Buffy and Faith show, are you sure that was a wise decision?"

"They needed to talk, Giles. And dare I say it was a bit hasty for you to side so easily with Faith when you hadn't even heard Buffy out?"

"I believe that Buffy has enough support on her side these days, Willow. I only did what Faith asked because I trust her to make the right decisions when it comes to her life," he explained, unwavering in his support of Faith.

"And that's great, Giles, it is. Yay team Faith! But if you'd given Buffy thirty seconds to explain, you'd know that we have a bit of a situation on our hands. Well, not so much on our hands as on Faith's hands, but we're – well, Buffy's – a bit more involved now too."

"As much as I appreciate you coming to tell me all of this, you're more aware than I am that your team has been able to surmount all slaying obstacles you've encountered since relocating to Scotland. What help do you think that Faith and I could offer after all of this time?"

And honestly, Giles was clueless to that effect. Buffy and her team had devised ways to fund their operation and had even forged an alliance with a local coven that could help support Willow's magical needs. Meanwhile Giles and Faith were living in former Council housing that survived the First and his minions and banking on the help of Marina, an old friend of his from his council days.

What use did they have for an outcast slayer and outdated Watcher?

"You're right; we've handled the slaying issues without much ado. This is different though. This isn't about slaying; this is about Faith. We still haven't gotten it all figured out yet but I've been putting together small pieces of the big twisted puzzle since Buffy went to New York. Giles," Willow took a deep breath before continuing, "we think someone in the Council was involved in some non-Council extracurriculars that may have led to Faith – and possibly several other potential slayers – being . . ."

The sound of a loud knock at the door interrupted Willow. All eyes in the room went to the large wooden door that creaked loudly under the pressure of the knock.

"Don't get that," Willow said, her breath hitching in her throat as she tried to read the energies on the other side of the door.

"Whoever it is, they don't mean us any harm," Marina said, her hand outstretched toward the door. Her fingertips twitched as she focused her powers, once again confirming that what she said was true.

Giles looked back and forth between the two women and then stood, hesitantly making his way towards the door. Sparing one more glance back at an anxious Willow, he twisted the doorknob and pulled the door open, his eyes immediately widening as he took a step back.

"Hello, Rupert," Quentin said with a pleased smirk on his face.

Giles flinched as a hand shot out suddenly and hit Quentin between his shoulder and neck, instantly rendering the man unconscious. What appeared to be Faith stepped forward and caught Quentin before he could hit the ground, lifting him easily in her arms as she finally met Giles' alarmed eyes.

Giles looked back at Marina who telepathically told him that Faith was still in the safe house, then back to the girl before him. Suddenly another girl stepped forward, taking position behind the girl. Satsu? It couldn't be.

"You know who I am?" The first girl asked and instantly Giles knew that it wasn't Faith's voice he was hearing.

"Yes," he said, his voice barely a whisper.

"Then let us in, we don't have much time."

He hesitated for a moment before stepping to the side, letting the two girls and unconscious and inexplicably alive Quentin Travers into the house. Suddenly he was thinking that he should've let Buffy do her explaining.

********************

***Suggested music: Joga (Strings and Vocals) by Bjork***

Buffy waited for some kind of reaction from Faith, her tears falling freely now, but the girl could only manage to stare at her looking confused, hurt, and angry all at the same time. After dealing with the awkward silence for what felt like forever, Buffy continued.

"I was sick and tired of all of your walls and bullshit drama, Faith. You've never been able to just be fucking honest with me except for when you came back to Sunnydale and we had that talk in my bedroom. God, it's always this state of emergency with us, isn't it? Kiss or kill. Too bad you've never been able to just let down your walls and be straight with me though, huh Faith? Maybe I should've made them program her to hate me, then it would've been just like the real deal; the _real _you."

Faith just stared at her, angry tears filling her own eyes but never falling. She was having a hard time believing all of this was happening, from the fact that she had a clone out there somewhere to the fact that Buffy had slept with her. More pressing for her though, was the fact that Buffy thought she hated her.

"You think I hate you?"

"Well duh!"

"Then you're even more fuckin clueless than I thought."

"Faith, you couldn't make it any more obvious if you tried."

"I don't hate you, Buffy; I hate myself when I'm around you!" Faith nearly screamed, her eyes wild as she stared into Buffy's. "You think I_ like_ being the bad guy? The one nobody can even bear to be around so they haul ass to Scotland while I stay in the States on my own? I _hate_ myself, Buffy. Always been willing to put my life on the line cos I didn't care 'bout it. Giles saw that and yunno what he did? He gave me some purpose."

"He turned you into a killer again!"

"Maybe he did, but how many slayers are alive because Gigi is dead? Ten? A hundred? A thousand?"

"Did he coach you into saying that, Faith?" Buffy asked bitterly.

"No_, I _did. It let me deal with it, made me feel like maybe I could like the person I was becoming, that people were alive cos of something I did. And then you came around and I was back to hating myself. I don't need to hate you, B, cos I'm the perfect scapegoat; I can hate myself enough for the both of us."

They stared at one another for what felt like forever. Buffy's tears continued to fall, running silently down her cheeks as she wished that she could take it all back. She couldn't though; she was left in the here and now with Faith and all of the old wounds they'd re-opened to get here. How could they deal with this?

"Doesn't matter now, does it?" Buffy asked. "You can't be around me because I make you hate yourself, and I can't be around you knowing that. We've made our choices, haven't we?"

"Seems like it, right?" Said so nonchalantly even though Faith was feeling anything but.

"Yeah," Buffy said sadly, hanging her head. She turned and began to walk out of the room but stopped. After a moment she turned and walked back in, closing the door behind her. "I just have one more thing to say."

Before she could explain, before Faith could stop her, Buffy hooked her fingers through Faith's belt loops and pulled her forward, their mouths crashing together in a heated kiss as their bodies melded together. It only took a few seconds for Faith to pull back and look at her accusingly, her eyes wide.

Faith began to say something but Buffy cut her off with another kiss, this one much longer and deeper than the first. Buffy suddenly felt her back up against a wall and Faith pressing intimately against her, but then Faith's mouth was gone and she felt hands on her shoulders keeping her there.

"What the hell did you go and do that for?" Faith asked, breathing hard.

"Why did you do it back? Twice?" Buffy asked, her hands trying to pull Faith back to her as the girl resisted.

Faith couldn't resist too sincerely though and let herself be pulled forward again, her lips meeting Buffy's again in yet another intense kiss, their lips hungry and needy. After several long moments she pulled back just enough to rest her forehead against Buffy's, doing her best to resist whatever was going on between them.

"Ya gotta stop doing that," she breathed out, her body urging her to step forward and step back at the same time. How could she be so utterly conflicted over what she wanted?

"Then stop doing it back," Buffy breathed out harshly, her hands still grasping needily at Faith. "Ball's in your court this time. Kiss or kill, Faith. What are you gonna choose this time around?"

Faith closed her eyes and took a step back, taking a few deep breaths before opening them and drowning in a sea of pleading emerald green. She stared deeply into Buffy's eyes for just a moment, two moments, three moments more, and she knew then that her decision was made.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Faith closed her eyes again, trying so hard to fight everything that Buffy was making her feel. She didn't want to be around the girl, didn't want to fall for her harder than she already had, but everything in her body was telling her to touch, to taste, to claim her in every way that Buffy would let her.

Unable to fight it any longer, she finally gave in to Buffy's insistent hands and let herself be pulled forward into her embrace. Their lips crashed together before their bodies were even in full contact, kissing hard and fast like there wasn't enough time in the world. Like they weren't trapped together for the next day.

Like things would come crashing down before they had the chance to get anywhere.

Wasting no time, Faith began to tug and pull at Buffy's shirt, needing to feel her skin. Needing to feel the connection that they'd always denied. Buffy happily obliged, helping to unbutton her blouse as Faith kept trying to push it off. Moments later she was bare from the waist up with the exception of only her bra. Faith stepped back for just a moment, hastily pulling her own shirt up and over her head before carelessly discarding it to the side.

Their eyes met then, dark with lust and still wet with tears. Both girls remained still, waiting for a sign; for one of them to be brave enough to make the final step toward the other. After what felt like an eternity, Buffy finally closed the distance between them, her steps slow, tentative. She didn't want to spook Faith, especially not now. She needed this.

They both needed this.

Gingerly placing her hands on Faith's hips, Buffy stood before her, staring into her dark brown eyes. She gave her one last opportunity to back down before she leaned up, nudging her nose gently against Faith's. Feeling a rush of warm breath wash over her face, she finally did what they'd both been waiting for: she brushed her lips softly over Faith's, sighing into the kiss when she felt her respond.

********************

Echo breezed through the room after Giles, stopping only when he indicated a place to set Travers down. She set him on the leather sofa and made sure he was secure before standing up, putting her hands on her hips and cracking her back in a very Faith-like manner. When she turned around to face the others, she found all eyes focused inquisitively on her.

"Way you're all staring, I think it's safe for me to assume that you all know something weird is going on here."

"I'd say that's a safe assumption," Willow said with a nod, studying Echo's face. It was unreal how much she was like Faith! The only thing missing was the accent and the attitude.

"Great, then start working on your theories or whatever cos he's gonna wake up in about twenty minutes and I seriously doubt he's gonna let me hit him again just so you can finish up your little pow-wow here."

Correction: The only thing missing was the accent.

"I don't even know where to begin," Giles said, sitting down on his chair while he stared at Echo in wonderment. "This is all news to me; I've only just found out from Willow here," he indicated Willow with a nod of his head.

Willow's eyes widened when Echo and Sierra looked at her expectantly.

"Me? I barely know anything either!" she said defensively, looking back and forth from the two women to Giles. "Buffy thought she saw Faith in New York City. A bit of old-fashioned hacking and general snoopery later, we found out about AFH – the place that Echo and . . . umm, Satsu?"

"Sierra," the Asian girl corrected.

"Right, Sierra. Anyhow, that's where we found Echo and Sierra, or really just Echo. Sierra is a bit of a, umm, surprise. Not a bad surprise, of course!" she corrected quickly at the look that Sierra gave her. "AFH doesn't formally exist on paper. They're a private company with trusts connected to several large science and medical firms, also private and unlisted."

"If AFH doesn't exist on paper, how did you find all of that out?" Echo asked, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Through a few handy snooping spells. I'm a witch," Willow explained.

"You're a witch, I'm a clone; all we're missing is the Tin Man and Dorothy, right?" Echo said, her patience wearing thin.

"You're a clone? How can you be sure of that?" Giles asked, standing up to get a closer look at Echo.

Echo merely shrugged before saying, "That's what the ugly guy on the couch and Dr. DeWitt were talking about."

"And who is Dr. DeWitt?" Giles asked her.

"She's the one who made us," Echo explained, her voice sounding pained. "We don't know anything about ourselves. I don't know who I am, where I come from. I don't remember what I had for dinner yesterday or who I went to the prom with. I shouldn't even know that anything is wrong with me; I shouldn't be questioning any of this. The only thing I know for sure is that when Sierra is around, we can feel each other."

"Have you spoken to anyone about this?"

Echo paused before answering,

"I don't know for sure. I guess it's a possibility, but if Dr. DeWitt knew, I'm sure we wouldn't be standing here right now. I don't know what they see in my head when they do what they do to me. All I know is that I feel something inside of me, and yesterday and today I felt it stronger than I ever have. I don't know who she was or why it happened, but I felt her, and I remember it. I can't remember what I wore or what I did, but I remember her. I see her every time I close my eyes."

"Blonde hair, green eyes?" Willow asked and exhaled excitedly when Echo nodded. "That's Buffy. She's a slayer; _the_ slayer, actually. The slayer line in all of the new slayers is from Buffy and Faith. I used their essence and that of the Scythe to call the new slayers."

Echo frowned and looked at the others in the room.

"Any of you care to translate that into English for me?"

"I'm afraid it won't make much sense to you even if we did," Giles said, his eyes focused on some far off place in the room. "Getting into slayer history and lore with you won't help; the only thing that matters is that you were cloned from Faith – our friend and one of the slayers that Willow spoke of – and that the essence of the slayer was replicated in the cloning process. For all intents and purposes, you are a slayer, just as she is."

"That the reason why they're always talking about how strong Sierra and I are compared to the others?"

"There are others?" Giles asked worriedly.

"Yeah, but Sierra and I don't feel them. If you think we're cloned from slayers, none of the other actives are. We'd feel them if that was the case."

"Well that's a relief," Giles said after exhaling a long breath. "I don't know what purpose Travers had in cloning Faith and Satsu, but I'm sure that it wasn't with the best of intentions. A man like him shouldn't have access to that much power."

"Speaking of Travers," Willow interrupted, "I thought that he went kablooey when Caleb and the First destroyed Council Headquarters?"

"He did," Echo chimed in. "We heard his conversation with Dr. DeWitt earlier. His deal with her was pretty simple: he gave her slayer DNA in exchange for storage in their cryobanks and for some cash. He said they did a full memory and personality read on him. Guess that when he died, they made a fresh new copy of him."

Giles and Willow looked at one another, both of them wary.

"That sounds like something out of one of Andrew's television shows," Willow said.

"I wasn't even aware that technology like that existed," Giles said, still unable to believe this was all happening.

"That's because, technically, it doesn't," came a low voice from the sofa. Everyone turned to see Travers sitting forward, gingerly rubbing the spot where Echo had hit him. He held his hands up in surrender when Echo started towards him and she paused, giving him a moment to explain. "The United States – for all its technological advances, is sorely conservative when it comes to the issue of cloning. I assume this is why Adelle DeWitt resigned from her position at one of the leading scientific research institutes in the western hemisphere and all but disappeared into anonymity. She'd stumbled upon something and knew that under law, she couldn't study it any further."

"And how did you discover her facility?" Giles asked, his voice terse and wary. If he'd learned one thing over his years with the Council, it was that he didn't like Quentin Travers and didn't think he could be trusted. The feeling still remained.

"Council connections," Travers said vaguely. "The science branch received word of Dr. DeWitt and her research shortly before she left the research institute. It was simply a matter of finding her once she left, and what better place to hide than in one of the biggest cities in the world?"

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that the Council was delving into such shady activities," Giles said, a look of distaste upon his face. "After all, you were the one in charge."

Travers chuckled to himself, amused by Giles' words.

"Oh Rupert, you've always been worth a laugh or two," he said, then became more serious. "When I sought out Adelle DeWitt, it was on my own behalf, not that of the Council. I'm not ignorant, Rupert. I know what people think about me and I've received my fair share of threats. I knew that I wasn't going to die of old age, happily retired in a villa in Tuscany. My deal with her was an insurance policy."

"We all have to die at some point, Quentin."

"Well I wasn't ready. I did my time with the Council; I wanted the promise of another start if anything happened to me during my time with them."

"You knew what the risks were, being involved with such an organization. No one forced you to serve, and certainly no one forced you into a leadership position," Giles said angrily.

"Be as angry as you like, Rupert. None of this changes what happened or the fact that I sit here before you now."

Willow stepped in then, not wanting the argument to escalate any further.

"Be that as it may, it doesn't explain why Echo and Sierra are standing here with us now," she said quietly.

Travers took a deep breath and exhaled, smiling gently when he looked upon the figures of Echo and Sierra.

"No, I suppose it doesn't. As much as I sought out DeWitt on my own behalf, I had to tempt her to agree to my plan. A woman like her isn't interested in money; she's interested in power. I only had one thing to offer her, and that was the DNA of a slayer."

"You daft fool!" Giles yelled and stood up, slamming his hands down on his desk. "Didn't you take a single moment to imagine what it would be like if the secret of the slayer got out? If someone harnessed that power for evil? Generations of good wasted for nothing!"

"You think I actually believed that the essence of the slayer would be passed on? That's not how it works, Rupert, and you know that as damn well as I do! The power is passed on to a potential slayer, not some random cellular form. If I'd believed that the essence of the slayer could be replicated into another being, I never would have even approached Adelle DeWitt. I figured that they would be stuck with an impish Faith Lehane that they could deal with in their own way."

"And you had no moral quandary with that?" Giles asked, approaching slowly.

"Absolutely none!" Travers yelled. "She was a bad apple, Rupert, and she was paying for it, laying in a coma in some random hospital. If stealing a bit of her blood makes me as bad as her, I'll be damned just as she is."

He didn't see the fist fly out; hitting him square in the jaw and sending him back down on the couch in a daze.

"For the record, Faith Lehane has been completely rehabilitated of her own free will. She's saved lives and will continue to do so. As for you, well . . . you're still an utterly useless wanker."

Willow's mouth, which had been opened in shock, was now curling up into the silliest of grins. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand, hoping no one had seen. This was time for business, not for laughing at Giles' unexpected but appropriate name-calling.

Giles turned back and looked back at the others, an apologetic look upon his face.

"I apologize for that," he said, the smallest of grins on his face.

"No need," Willow said, biting back her own smile still. "Maybe now would be a good time to ask him about Satsu. I mean, Sierra."

Travers shook his head to regain his wits, ignoring the swimminess in his head.

"I've said this before and I'll say it again to you now: Satsu Miura was never meant to be cloned. When the Council learned of the possible capabilities of Dr. DeWitt's initiative, we began to collect samples from potential slayers that we came across. They didn't know we'd collected any samples, nor did anyone else who didn't need to know. We had them stored at our facility, but as you said, Rupert, we didn't want them stolen for nefarious purposes."

"You mean more nefarious than your own?" Giles asked bitterly.

"Yes," Travers answered plainly, glaring at Giles. "When I realized the danger in keeping said samples at Council Headquarters, I needed to find a safe haven for them. Adelle promised me complete security and confidentiality, not even questioning what the samples were."

"So she just helped herself to Satsu's DNA?" Willow asked, her brow furrowed. At Travers' nod, she continued. "Who else's DNA did you have?"

Travers shrugged nonchalantly, "Girls who had been treated at key medical locations. Rona St. George, Amanda Pierce, Kennedy Quinlan, and a handful of other potentials across the globe."

Willow's face had turned red when he mentioned Kennedy's name. Not only did it mean that her girlfriend might have a clone somewhere out there, but it also made her think about the possibility of a Kennedy-Willow-Kennedy sandwich. She was just glad that her blush was covered up by her anger.

"You can be as angry with me as you'd like, but that doesn't change the situation," Travers continued, watching Willow now. "The potentials were never meant to be cloned. In fact, once I was successfully recreated and released, my deposit in the cryobank was given back to me as well. I took the DNA samples from the potentials and I destroyed them. AFH was no longer a threat at that point."

"At that point?" Willow asked, confused.

"Yes, at that point. I don't know what's happened to the slayer line in my absence, but Satsu Miura must have been called. Sierra is just as strong and lethal as Echo, just a bit more untamed, untrained. And having witnessed that power, DeWitt is hungry for more. She's threatened to have my second lease on life annulled unless I can provide more DNA for her, including that of Buffy Summers."

Giles laughed then, a good and hearty laugh.

"Buffy was my charge for seven years and in that time I learned that she is quite possibly, without doubt, the most stubborn person I know. Do you honestly think she'll just hand over her DNA without a fight, especially knowing now what we do about the cloning process? The only way you'll get her DNA is over her dead body."

A very solemn look came over Travers' face then. He waited for Giles to stop laughing before saying,

"And Adelle will stop at nothing less than killing her to get it."

Giles' jaw clenched as he realized the sudden reality of the situation.

"Why are you here?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Because I know what she's capable of, of what she wants to do, and I can't be a part of that. Rupert . . . we have to stop her, before it gets even more out of hand." His tone was honest as he pleaded with Giles' more compassionate side.

Giles, however, was still wary.

"How did you even find us here?"

"Council property. There's only so much left standing. I simply chose the place I thought you might be. I got lucky."

"And them?" Giles asked, indicating Echo and Sierra.

"My protection. I told DeWitt I would need personal security to ensure no old enemies could exact justice on me. She believes that they're here to back me up. Of course, I never expected the course of events that happened." He rubbed his sore shoulder, eying Echo warily.

"Sorry gramps, figured ya for a bad guy. Guess I wasn't too far off though, right?" When Travers didn't answer, Echo continued, looking at Giles. "Listen, we're gonna be expected back. We don't get there soon, they're gonna call us in and we won't be able to resist. You need to do what they did."

"And what's that?" Giles asked, intrigued.

"You need to send in two of your best."

Giles sighed, resting back in the big leather chair again. "That might be a problem. My two best are in a mystical dimension for approximately the next twenty-two hours, and I think I'd be safe to assume that it's not all, as one might say, hugs and puppies between them. Besides, I hardly think that sending Buffy is a good idea, especially knowing how much Adelle wants her."

"Well we don't have twenty-two hours so you better think quick," Echo said matter-of-factly.

Several moments of silence passed before Willow perked up with an 'a-ha!'

"I think I have an idea," she said with a coy smile.

********************

Faith lay completely naked next to Buffy, watching as the girl dozed quietly. What they'd done together . . . she'd never experienced anything like it before. To be perfectly honest, she didn't think she was the kind of girl that stuff like that happened to. But when Buffy came along and offered her everything she always wanted but never thought she'd get on a silver platter, well . . . her newly found resolve didn't last too long.

Buffy wasn't sleeping so much as resting with her eyes closed, a content smile on her lips despite the small bit of space Faith had put between them. It wasn't that she didn't want to do the post-sex cuddle; in fact, she was kind of still waiting for it. In fact, she was waiting for several cuddles to go with the several orgasms they'd had together. But Faith had started to look a little bit spooked after all was said and done so she'd allowed her some space, making sure to flaunt her nakedness so that she wouldn't stray too far away.

Of course, it worked like a charm.

Faith was lying on her side less then a foot away from her letting her eyes roam up and down her perfect naked form. She was propped up on her elbow, her head resting on her hand. Every now and then the faintest of smiles would twitch at the corner of her lips when she thought that Buffy wasn't looking, obviously not too unhappy with the way things had played out.

And it had played out in all kinds of new and sexy ways. The urgency with which they first began kissing carried through to their first encounter, both girls making it hard and fast as though they were afraid they'd be interrupted at any moment. Lips and teeth and tongues crashed together as fingernails scratched just hard enough down smooth skin. It wasn't about love or patience, but rather a greedy reward for the patience of waiting more than four years for the moment to finally arrive.

It ended with as much intensity as it had begun but quickly began to fade as Faith's brow had furrowed in realization of what they'd just done. She moved to get up from the bed but was stopped by a gentle tugging on her arm coaxing her back with promises of more things and feelings to explore.

Their second encounter was much less urgent and more about exploring, getting to know the dips and curves of one another's bodies and just what made one another shutter and sigh in pleasure. Buffy started things that time but Faith had slowly took the reins, feeling more confident as Buffy let her do so.

The third time was about laughter, both girls dissolving into fits of giggles when their bodies made weird noises together or when Buffy accidentally elbowed Faith in the kneecap. They'd laughed until they found themselves a tangle of limbs, wanting, writhing, yearning for more.

And that's when Buffy started losing track of what happened next, sure only of the fact that there had been more sex and that Faith had quickly given her a new definition of the word sexy.

She'd also given her a new definition or the word bendy. She didn't know how the girl had twisted around like that the one time but she knew it was something she'd have to learn, stat!

Unconsciously, Buffy let out a long 'mmmm' sound, stretching her weary muscles.

"That a good mmmm?" Faith asked, the ghost of a smile playing at the corners of her lips again.

"And how," Buffy said, a huge grin on her face. She finally opened her eyes, looking over at the brunette. "I feel _good._"

"Good to hear."

Buffy waited for a few minutes before asking, "How about you?"

"Five by five," Faith replied vaguely.

Five by five? That was all she could come up with? Really? She couldn't even have stepped it up a notch and said six by six or eleventy-seven by eleventy-seven?

"Really? Five by five?" Buffy asked, trying to read Faith's face.

Faith just grinned a little and nodded. "That about sums it up."

"Hmm." Buffy rolled fully onto her back, slipping under the dark blue sheets that they'd pushed to the side. She pulled them up to her chest, leaving only her shoulders and head exposed.

Faith instantly noticed the small change and frowned. Half-hidden Buffy body bad. Fully naked Buffy body good. There needed to be less blankets, and soon.

"Gotta admit it's a little bit weird though, right?" she asked, hoping that Buffy would know what she was talking about and leap back out of the covers.

"What is?" Buffy asked, her tone dubious.

"The fact that I just spent like two hours gettin' to know your naughty bits on like a first name basis after we've pretty much spent four years driving each other insane," Faith said easily and laughed just a little.

"Well to be fair, you were already a little bit insane and I've never been the brightest crayon in the box," Buffy said with a shrug, staring off into the distance as she recalled their tumultuous past.

"Sure are a pretty color though," Faith said, offering a wink when Buffy looked over to her with an eyebrow raised.

Buffy just chuckled in response, leaning up on her elbows and letting her long blonde hair cascade down her back. Faith watched, entranced by the simple movement. Buffy noticed, of course, smirking at the knowledge that she had the power to render Faith stupid with such a simple gesture.

Slowly, she began to tug the sheet down, letting it slide painfully slow down her chest. Faith's eyes remained glued to her, watching the sheet trail over her chest.

After a few moments Faith shook her head, willing herself to get out of the stupor she was in but struggling with it.

"There's probably a lotta shit we're gonna have to deal with, huh," she said, her eyes following the sheet.

"Uh-huh," Buffy said, knowing fully well the effect she was having on Faith.

"And we're probably gonna go 'round in circles a bit cos you're all kindsa stubborn and gotta be right all the time, huh."

"Probably," whispered softly through slightly parted lips.

"And you're not gonna let me . . ." her voice trailed off as the sheet finally cleared Buffy's breasts, her nipples visibly hardening as the cool air licked at them, ". . . umm, you're not . . . I'm . . . what the hell was I sayin?"

"I think you were telling me you wanted me."

"Yeah, totally want you. And . . . hey!" Her eyes flicked up to Buffy's suddenly. "Don't think you can get me to be sayin' all kindsa funky shit just cos you have a nice rack!"

Buffy smiled an impish smile then, playfully flicking the sheet off and letting it billow down to the mattress.

"So don't say anything then, Fai."

"Maybe I should just put my mouth to better use then, huh," she said with a grin.

"Maybe you should," Buffy agreed, staring into Faith's eyes as the girl began to slowly close the distance between them. A swell of excitement suddenly washed over her, quickly feeling like the prey and Faith the predator as the girl switched the game around quickly. Hadn't she been in charge just a moment ago?

She suddenly found herself covered in a new blanket – a very Faith-like blanket that rested against her skin, every fiber of her being in ecstasy at the feel of her skin against her own. She'd never tire of this, the feel of Faith and only Faith against her; she just hoped that Faith wouldn't spook again and take it all away from her.

Now that she'd had a taste, she didn't think she'd ever be able to give it up. She didn't know quite what that meant yet and she didn't want to think about it. Not when Faith's lips were blazing a wet trail across her chest and down her stomach. Not when she felt lips nipping and kissing at her inner thighs. Not when she felt two soft hands holding her thighs apart and warm breath being blown over her suddenly warm bits. Not when she saw dark brown eyes staring deeply into her own as a soft tongue pressed against her wet center.

And certainly not when Faith disappeared into thin air, the atmosphere sparking with energy as she found two new sets of eyes gazing down at her from across the room.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Buffy was pretty sure that she'd never had a panic attack before. Her nerves were generally unshakable especially when it came to protecting those she loved and cared about. Maintaining her cool was something that she normally took pride in.

But as she scrambled around on the old mattress and fumbled with the crumpled sheets to protect her modesty, she was pretty sure that a panic attack was in order. Her first concern was that Faith had disappeared. There was no way she wanted to be caught in the dimension alone, especially when things were getting good between them. Really, _really_ good.

Her second concern though, after she'd opened her eyes, was how the hell had Faith managed to get across the room and dressed in a new outfit in the matter of two seconds, and why the hell was Satsu with her? Was it some kind of cruel joke just so they could watch a Buffy-sized meltdown?

As she finally slipped under the covers and pulled them up -- all the way up and right over her head -- she couldn't help but try to rationalize it all aloud.

"I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming, bad dreams, and this is the part where I'm naked in front of the classroom, except there is no classroom. Why is there no classroom?" She peeked out of the covers and saw the curious gazes still focused on her so she lowered her head back under and continued to freak out. "There is no classroom, and my two lovers – my two _female_ lovers – are looking at me like I'm crazy. Maybe I am crazy. Oh no, I'm hallucinating. Or maybe it's hypoglycemia? Cheese! I need a piece of cheese!"

Across the room, Echo and Sierra watched in confused amusement as the Buffy-shaped lump continued to move around and rant.

"Do you think we should interrupt her?" Echo asked.

"I don't know, this is pretty amusing. Maybe give her a few more minutes."

They both waited for nearly another minute as Buffy continued to rant about some kind of cheese-man and weird dreams. Echo sighed, clearly anxious.

"They sent us here to protect her and we're gonna let her suffocate. We've gotta stop her."

She ignored Sierra's half-hearted protest and walked the few steps to the bed, hesitating for a moment before poking a random spot on the Buffy-shaped lump under the blanket. When Buffy froze and went completely quiet, Echo cleared her throat quietly.

"Umm, hey. I don't have any cheese, but if ya come out of there I'm sure we can make some sense about what's goin on."

It took a few moments, but Buffy finally peeked her head out from under the blankets and looked warily between Sierra and Echo before settling her gaze suspiciously on Echo. She couldn't be Faith, could she? Surely after everything that had just happened between them, Faith would say more than some clever comment about cheese. Still, Buffy had to be sure.

"Fill in the blanks: Slaying makes you what and what?"

Echo stared at her for a good long moment, her head tilted to the side, trying to figure out exactly what Buffy was getting at. The quiet hum throughout her body was pretty distracting though.

"I'm gonna go with sweaty and a bit ripe."

One of Buffy's eyes narrowed even more, eying Echo more suspiciously than before.

"Definitely, definitely not Faith. But if you're not Faith, and Faith's not here, where did she go and how did you get here? And why is Satsu kinda blonde?"

All eyes fell on Sierra who just shrugged nonchalantly.

"Pretty sure I don't have a say in how I look, and the name's Sierra. Ninja Barbie is back with the English guy and the redhead. Kinda trippy meeting her like that. Thought she was gonna puke when she saw me, but then she went from sick to pissed off when the redhead explained to her the deal with Echo and I. Got a feeling she and Faith are gonna tear the shit out of the Dollhouse though."

Buffy's eyes widened more and more as Satsu spoke, unsure if she was hearing things right.

"Wait, you're not Satsu? Satsu was cloned? Oh boy, information overload. This is getting really trippy."

"You think this is bad? Imagine how Satsu and Faith are going to react when they realize they're going undercover as their clones."

Buffy's mouth fell open as she tried to rationalize what Sierra had just told her. That's when a scary reality hit home.

"Are you telling me that Satsu and Faith are back with Giles? Together? At the same time? "

Echo smiled awkwardly and bent down, picking up Buffy's shirt and placing it on the bed next to Buffy.

"You're probably gonna wanna get dressed. There's a lot we need to fill you in on."

********************

Faith hit the floor with a loud thud, unprepared for a proper landing. Two seconds before she'd been a flick of her tongue away from sending Buffy to happy land and now she was flat on the ground, her tongue still sticking comically out of her mouth.

She quickly sat up and looked around, taking in her surroundings and the several pairs of shocked eyes staring at her.

"Uh," she began, looking between them in confusion, "little help? Blanket might be a nice way to start. Explanation might be a good way to finish."

Giles casually grabbed the fleece blanket from the back of the sofa and tossed it over to her, seemingly unfazed by her nakedness as he looked at his desk and reached for his cup of tea. Willow, however, couldn't help but stare as Faith opened the blanket up to wrap it around her perfect body that was still on display to the entire room. Was Faith showing up naked par for the course around here?

Wait, if Faith was naked, did that mean . . . had she been naked with Buffy? Mutual slayer nakedness? Willow's mouth fell open in shock.

"Better close it Red, you're gonna catch a fly," Faith said, breaking her out of her daze as she casually stood up and wrapped the blanket around herself like a bath towel. "So, good job with the witchy mojo on gettin' me back guys, but unless she's hiding in another room, ya forgot to zap B back with me."

"I'm afraid that we didn't forget her," Giles replied, finally looking back towards Faith. "It appears that we've found ourselves in a bit of a precarious situation and, at the moment, Buffy is more secure at the safe house than she would be here."

"Situation? You got any idea what she's gonna do when she realizes she's there alone and there's no explanation why I up and vanished? Now _that's_ gonna be a situation."

"You're naked," Willow said, seemingly unaware that she'd said it aloud.

"Ten points to the keen observer," Faith said with a wink.

"Does that mean that Buffy's . . . that you, or, that the both of you . . . well, is there . . .?"

"Workin' out our problems one at a time," Faith interrupted Willow's babbling, the smallest of grins on her face. "Giles? Gonna clue me in on the situation or are we gonna play a game of strip charades? Gotta say, it's gonna get pretty interesting when I guess wrong the first time," she said, indicating the blanket wrapped around her body.

"Though I'm aware of your love of games, I'm afraid we've no time for them now. Faith, you remember Quentin Travers?" he asked and indicated the man sitting on an armchair. When Faith narrowed her eyes at him, Giles continued. "Before you ask, yes, he did die, and no, this isn't a zombie or the First. In his council days, Quentin learned of a company heavily into cloning and promised Slayer DNA in exchange for his own virtual immortality."

Travers just scoffed from across the room and crossed his arms over his chest, obviously unhappy with Giles' explanation.

"B gave me the basics; said that there's a Faith-clone walkin around too. What's the what? She go rogue and now ya want me to take her down?"

Said so casually that Willow's stomach tightened; was that the kind of dark task that Faith was used to these days? Goddess! They really needed to bring Faith and Giles back into the fold.

"Quite the contrary," Giles answered. "Echo – your clone – is truly innocent in all of this, as is Satsu's clone, Sierra."

Something dawned on Faith then. She looked behind her and saw an Asian girl watching her with interest.

"I'm guessing that's Satsu then," she said, nodding her head once in Satsu's direction.

"I'd say the one and only, but from what they're telling me, that's not exactly the case," Satsu said, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Know the feeling," Faith replied evenly, pushing down all of the feelings that were trying to break through to her exterior. _Satsu_. The one Buffy was with in Scotland. Part of her wondered how a girl like that was the first one to break through Buffy's wholesome, heterosexual barrier. The Gay must be strong in this one, she thought.

That, or Buffy had just been really lonely.

"Quentin has come here in good faith, or so he'd like us to believe. Apparently, the woman who runs the cloning program – Adelle DeWitt – is unhappy with him for giving her your DNA and not that of Buffy."

"How the fuck did he get my DNA in the first place?" Faith asked, looking over at him. Seeing the look on his face, she knew that there was only one opportunity he would've had to get it. "You took my blood when I was in a coma? Of all the fucking cowardly, sneaky-ass things . . ." Her eyes were dark and dangerous as she glared at him, slowing advancing in his direction until she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She looked back to see Giles there and instantly stopped, giving him a moment to further explain.

"For all intents and purposes, you were dead, Miss Lehane," Travers said, making her look back towards him. "I won't offer insincere apologies; you were a thorn in the Council's side from the moment you were called and I felt no remorse in taking a few meager vials of blood. Besides, we all know that you made it through the ordeal unscathed. I do, however, know that I erred in what I did once I had your DNA, and that's why I'm here. We need to stop Adelle. I fear that if she gets her hands on Miss Summers' DNA – or that of any of the new slayers that Rupert told me about – she'll build a force behind her so strong that no one will be able to stop her."

"How do you know she doesn't have a whole army of slayer-clones there now gettin' ready to come and take what they want?" Faith asked, ignoring Travers' comments about her.

"Echo and Sierra can feel one another via the slayer bond but they don't feel that same connection with any of the other actives," Willow explained. "With the two of them on our side, Adelle's actives don't stand a chance against a slayer."

"So that's it then?" Faith asked, shifting a bit uncomfortably now. "I go in, take out the pawns and kill the queen?"

"When did you start using chess references?" Willow asked, one of her eyebrows raised.

"Since I taught her how to play," Giles answered, standing firm behind Faith. "Faith," he began quietly, getting her attention, "we've discussed what the best course of action is, and we don't believe that involves killing Adelle or the other actives. With the shady activities Adelle has taken part in with the slayers, we don't know who or what the other actives are. The issue of identifying the other actives will need to be addressed , and Adelle herself needs to be put in her place."

"A place with bars and thick cement walls," Willow chimed in.

"And how do you suppose we do that?" Faith asked. "Place like her hideaway's gotta have mad security. You really think they're gonna let me walk through the front door and nab the boss lady?"

An amused grin appeared on Giles face then.

"Actually, yes." He looked over to Satsu and Faith followed his gaze before meeting his eyes again.

Was Giles implying what she thought he was implying? It was really smart yet really stupid all at the same time.

"Seriously?" Faith asked, scratching her head with her index finger. "You want me and the kid to go undercover as . . . our clones?"

"Precisely," Giles said easily.

"Marina and I have conjured up a glamour that will make your appearance and speech patterns match Sierra and Echo's more accurately," Willow said almost excitedly. Then she held out her hand and revealed two glowing white orbs about the size of a marble. "We also conjured these. You swallow it and it will leave your body naturally after a day or so. We're not sure how they have the actives programmed but the orb will let you receive the orders that the programmers send. You won't be inclined to follow the orders like the actives are, but at least you'll know how to respond."

Faith frowned as she stared at the swirly glowy orbs, wondering exactly what the hell 'naturally' meant. Did that mean that she was gonna . . .?

"Yeah, not sure I'm comfortable with that," she said, eying the orbs suspiciously.

"Trust me, if we didn't think that Adelle was a threat and that the slayers weren't in potential trouble, we wouldn't ask this of you, Faith, especially seeing as how closely tied to it you are. I fear we don't have many options at this point though," Giles said sadly, unhappy with the rock and the hard place he was leaving Faith between.

He knew it was the right decision though. Slayers were in trouble, and that's what they did now; helping trouble slayers. And given Faith's state when she'd come from the other dimension, he figured that she'd have a vested interest in it now, for Buffy's sake.

Faith thought about it all for a moment or two, her brow furrowed deeply, before she finally sighed and sagged her shoulders in defeat.

"Fine, but these things get stuck in me? Someone's gonna pay."

She reached out to grab the two small orbs from Willow's hand but stopped when another hand dipped in and took one of the orbs. Looking up, she watched as Satsu popped it into her mouth and swallowed with a loud gulp.

"You didn't think that I was gonna let you have all of that fun alone, did you?" the girl asked with a grin, amused at the confused look on Faith's face.

"Trust me, I'd let you have the whole shebang if it meant I got to go back to B so we could finish what we started," Faith said with a wink, smiling lewdly before popping her orb into her mouth and swallowing it just as easily.

Satsu could have her fun but no way was she getting Buffy again, even if Faith wasn't going to either. Faith could question her sudden possessiveness later. First, she had just one more question. Slowly turning towards Giles, she tilted her head to the side and furrowed her brow in confusion.

"So wait . . . if me and her are playing super-spy, where the hell are Echo and Sierra?"

********************

Buffy slowly exited the bedroom, still adjusting her clothes despite the fact that they were perfect. It didn't matter; she still felt like Echo and Sierra could see through them anyhow. She shut the door behind her, leaving Faith's now neatly folded clothes piled on the bed. Though she wasn't sure where Faith actually was zapped to, she knew she probably made quite an entrance wherever she'd landed.

Slowly making her way to the kitchen area, she found Echo and Sierra sitting at the kitchen table waiting for her. Echo looked up at her and their eyes met, a definite moment passing between them. Though it did the trick for Buffy in New York, convincing her that Echo was Faith, it just didn't work anymore. She knew that Echo wasn't Faith, and despite her obvious attraction to the girl . . . it ended there.

She walked the last few steps to the table and sat down across from them, her gaze now shifting to Sierra. There were several noticeable differences between Satsu and Sierra, the hair being the most obvious, but there was no doubt that they were the same person. That led Buffy's mind down a whole new path, contemplating just how many slayers had been cloned and exactly how that had been done without anyone knowing.

Wanting to distract herself from that scary thought, Buffy decided to get a few questions off her mind.

"Well, I guess my first question is, if Faith and Satsu are going undercover at AFH, why are the two of you here? Wouldn't it be wise for the both of you to go with them? Strength in numbers and all that?"

"I was thinking the same, but your pal Giles told us that we'd be better served playing guard dog to you," Sierra answered.

Echo gave her a silent look and the girl backed down, letting Echo take the lead.

"You met Adelle, right?" she asked, watching Buffy's face closely. When Buffy nodded, she continued, "Well, if she's anything, it's driven. She found out you're the original slayer and she wants your blood. She's not gonna stop until she gets it, one way or another."

"How did she find out about me?"

Echo shrugged, her hands anxiously fiddling with the old checkered tablecloth.

"The redhead – Willow? – her and that other chick worked some kinda mojo on me and Sierra, found out that we have some kind of recording device in our heads. Whatever you said to me when we had our encounter, Adelle got a private screening of it."

Buffy's eyes once again widened when she realized that if Adelle saw their conversation, she also saw her extracurricular bedroom activities with Echo. Her cheeks instantly reddened and she could barely bring herself to look up at Echo's face again.

"Wait!" Buffy yelled and then disappeared under the table before Echo or Sierra could stop her. "Is it still recording? The head-cam? Did she see me just now?"

Echo bent over and lifted up the table cloth, looking under at Buffy.

"You're safe, Buffy. Willow worked some kind of a glamour. Whatever your Faith and Satsu see, that's what she'll see. At the moment, Adelle's probably seeing what she thinks is me and Sierra roughing up your friends while trying to find you."

Giving Buffy a moment to digest that info, Echo sat back up and looked over at Sierra, ignoring the look that the girl was giving her. Sure Buffy was acting a bit nutty, but could you blame her? Her world had been turned upside down with the whole clone thing, and having seen her in the state she was in when she and Sierra first appeared, well . . . it was pretty safe to assume that Faith and Buffy were having some kind of a relationship together.

After a few moments, Buffy climbed out from under the table and sat back on the chair, a sheepish look upon her face.

"Sorry about the slight case of zany. I'm not normally this crazy," she half-heartedly explained.

"It's okay, you're understandably freaked. You really don't have much to worry about though," Echo reassured her. "Giles told us that there was no way Adelle could access this place without a slayer and a witch, and there's no witch that could pull off accessing it besides the two that already knew about it."

As crazy as it sounded, Buffy wasn't worried about herself. Her only real threat was a loaded gun and she was pretty sure that no one could get one in or out of the safe house. Her concern, of course, was how long she'd have to be stuck there for.

"Did they say when they were going to carry out their plan?" she asked.

"Well, we gave them a short briefing of what to expect when at AFH and Willow was working some more of her mojo. Pretty sure they were almost set to leave when they sent us here and they're hoping to have the mess mopped up pretty quickly. Willow's still planning on zapping you back with us at the one day mark, so you just gotta sit back and be patient."

Buffy scoffed, smiling to herself as she finally sat back in the old wooden chair.

"Easier said than done." A few moments of silence passed as she began to think of Faith and Satsu and of the danger they were facing in trying to breach the Dollhouse. Would Willow's magic really hold out and convince Adelle that they were Echo and Sierra? And even then, what were they supposed to do when they got there? Buffy shook her head, her thoughts drifting to another place. "The both of you seem to be taking all of this really well. Is that something you're programmed to do? To adapt really easily?"

Echo and Sierra looked at one another before Echo offered Buffy a small shrug.

"Don't know. I don't know what's me and what's just a program, yunno? I mean, I guess we've probably seen it all so it really shouldn't faze us, but it's hard to say. I don't really remember much of anything except what I've seen and heard today."

"That's gotta suck," Buffy said quietly, a sympathetic look on her face.

"Didn't until I knew about it all," Echo said with a self-deprecating laugh. "Not that I'm complaining," she quickly continued, "I don't have memories but I can still feel certain things; I can feel Satsu, and I can feel you too. Giles says it's cos I'm a slayer too, but . . . I dunno. Doesn't matter, I guess. I'm happy to bring the place down if they're hurting people and being all shady. Just don't know what it means for us once all's said and done."

"Giles will help. We all will," Buffy said, trying to sound enthusiastic and reassuring even though she was unsure of what she was saying. "Willow can work on restoring your memories, and hey – if you're a slayer, you can work with us."

Echo smiled sadly. She appreciated what Buffy was saying even if she knew herself that it wouldn't quite work that way.

"I appreciate the optimism but I've gotta face the fact that I have no memories that are my own. I was never given a chance to make any. I'm not even a real person."

Echo's inner conflict was palpable and Buffy couldn't stop herself from reaching out and putting a gentle hand over hers, making the girl look up at her.

"I know it's all really crazy right now but things have a weird way of working out around us." She offered Echo the most reassuring smile that she could and did her best to ignore the current that seemed to be running up her arm from the simple touch.

Echo smiled back weakly and only hoped that the info she'd given Faith and Satsu was enough to make Adelle's glass castle come tumbling down, for all of their sakes.

********************

Faith anxiously looked out the window of the helicopter and down at the rapidly approaching city, wondering silently when was the last time she'd been to New York. She remembered going to a Sox game at Yankee Stadium shortly before she got called, sneaking in with her friend Jamie and trying to hitchhike back to Boston when they'd missed their train.

That felt like ages away though and she couldn't help but think back to the now and the very real threat of this whole thing falling through and her and Satsu getting caught. She really hoped Willow was as good as she'd been when she'd called the slayers back in Sunnydale because it was going to take that caliber of magic to fool Adelle.

She finally looked back over at Satsu and at Travers who was sat between them looking as calm and collected as ever.

"What'd ya do, take a Valium or something?" she asked, put off by his nonchalance. "Share 'em if ya got 'em cos I feel like I'm 'bout to burst a blood vessel or something."

Travers just laughed to himself, not even sparing her a second glance.

"I have no choice but to be perfectly calm," he answered. "If Adelle sees me nervous and thinks for even one second that I've gone behind her back, she'll have no qualms about killing me on the spot. You and Miss Miura, on the other hand, are completely safe. There's no way she'd put an investment as big as either of you at risk by her own hands. Miss Rosenberg used her magicks and I'm confident that she won't fail you. The only real test will be to control your anger and not let the plan fall apart."

"He says to the ex-con with anger management issues," she mumbled under her breath, eying the pilot warily.

"Just play it cool, Faith," Satsu said, looking over at her from across Travers' lap. "Echo gave you the card, right?"

Faith reached down into her jacket pocket and plucked out a plain business card with just a telephone number printed on it. Holding it up, she nodded at Satsu.

"Good," Satsu continued. "We're close enough; make the call now. Tell him he's got ten minutes to get there if he wants his chance to blow the lid on this place. If he can't get there, we need to get in there and try to finish this anyhow. Be sharp and think on your feet. Willow's magic will guide us; all we have to do is be smart and play it cool."

"Jesus Christ, no wonder B took ya under her wing, you're like a little carbon copy of her," Faith said with a nervous smile. "Pretty soon you'll be leading your own slayer squad."

"That's the plan," Satsu said, sitting back in her seat and gazing out the window. "I'm all about Buffy being happy, but that doesn't mean I want to stick around and watch her make kissy face with you either."

"Good thing cos I don't like an audience," Faith said, grinning as she watched Satsu roll her eyes.

"I think it goes without saying that if I hear it through the grapevine that you've hurt her in any way, I'll kick your slayer ass, right?" She glanced back over at Faith, offering her own grin.

Faith just chuckled and flipped open a small black phone, shaking her head slightly.

"Got a feeling I'm gonna be hearing a lot of that."

Travers shook his own head and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I've heard of some bizarre love triangles in my day but this one takes the proverbial cake."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

There was something about downtown Manhattan that just didn't sit right with Faith. She'd been in big cities before; Boston wasn't exactly a small place and neither was LA for that matter. Manhattan was different though. Masses of people swarming up and down the streets in their designer suits, cell phones pressed to their ears as they went about their business.

They didn't know about the dirty dark underworld, but more importantly? They didn't _care_. They were so wrapped up in their lives and their jobs that they didn't want to know about the evil and the bad. For a person like Faith who knew that dirty dark underworld like the back of her own hand and had called it home, well . . . it just didn't sit right with her.

From the moment that the car had dropped them off outside of AFH after the short journey from the helicopter pad, Faith stood stock still against the building, her entire body tense as they bided their time. She watched as people passed by completely oblivious to the fact that just inside that building, people were being cloned and used as toys.

Maybe she shouldn't have judged so harshly. Maybe AFH, when not acting as a pimp or trying to play God, did good things. Hey, maybe they even helped the helpless.

There was no doubt that it was for a price though; done simply to expand Adelle's fortune and her empire. And regardless of the fact that some people may have benefited from the services, that didn't change the fact that it was all wrong.

Faith chuckled bitterly to herself as she continued to watch the people pass by. Leave it to her to pass moral judgment, right? She should be the last person in the world to judge anyone else like that, but something deep inside of her knew that _they_ were wrong and that it was the right thing to do in bringing them down.

Suddenly her line of vision was blocked by a pair of dark brown eyes looking into hers.

"Hey…hey!"

Faith shook her head when she realized that Satsu was trying to get her attention.

"Ain't no reason you need to be this close to me right now," Faith said, narrowing her eyes at the girl.

"Then buck up and quash whatever internal drama you're having," Satsu replied easily. "This isn't the time for self-flagellation."

Faith's eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"Self-what? What the hell?"

Satsu rolled her eyes and took a step back, hands on her hips now.

"I'm just saying that this mission will be a hell of a lot easier if you'd stop carrying that cross. Gotta be a bit heavy by now, am I right?"

Faith just shook her head in disbelief. Were the Scoobies offering classes on her now in Scotland? It's like everyone always knew what was best for her and every little thing about her past.

But what did Satsu know about anything anyhow?

"Me and you . . . we're gonna have us a little discussion when we get back to Giles' place."

"Oh goody, another awkward moment to look forward to. As if meeting my clone wasn't enough."

Faith relaxed her shoulders then and took in a deep breath through her nose before exhaling loudly. She knew that being an ass to Satsu was stupid but she just couldn't help it. Back when she was a kid her teachers and parents used to yell at her because she never liked to share her toys. Now she had this new and shiny Buffy toy and had no intention of sharing her with Satsu, even if the whole situation between herself and Buffy was completely unresolved and up in the air.

Still, as much as she wanted to keep Satsu far away, they were both in the same boat at the moment and they needed to be on the same side. She needed to put her petty jealousies – and anger – to the side.

"Listen," Faith began with a sigh, "I'm sorry, yeah? I'm just ten shades of tense. The clone situation, the B situation, and the fact that that fucker over there," she nodded in Quentin's direction, "stole my blood . . . I'm just on edge. Let's do the sacred duty thing so we can roll along home and move on."

Satsu looked at her for a moment, biting her lower lip while she debated whether or not to ask the next question before it just fell from her lips.

"Do you really think that we're all just gonna be able to move on? Be able to put all of this out of our minds and never worry again that there isn't some version of ourselves out there wreaking havoc?"

Faith's answer was simple.

"We have to. Nowhere to move but forward, right?"

Satsu nodded and took a few more steps back after a moment, waiting for Faith to take the lead. Faith smiled inwardly, happy that the girl knew when to back down and follow rank. She turned her head to the side and cracked her neck before nodding at Quentin and walking towards the door where two security guards were waiting for them.

She thought it would be just as easy as walking in but it looked like she was wrong as the guards stood in the way of the door and refused to budge. They looked at her expectantly, waiting for something that she wasn't quite sure of.

Suddenly her fingers twitched and she noticed Satsu's do the same out of the corner of her eye. Willow and Marina's spell was working.

"Sierra three-one-Lima, reporting in," came from Satsu's mouth as she kept direct eye contact with the guards. Both guards looked to Faith then, waiting for her to follow suit.

She didn't know where it came from but the answer bubbled up from within her as if she'd been programmed to reply.

"Echo one-zero-Whiskey, reporting in."

One guard stepped aside then as the other turned and entered the building, indicating for them to follow. Satsu entered first, followed by Quentin and lastly by Faith. Before taking her last step inside, Faith turned her head and looked out into the busy street, her eyes searching anxiously.

"It's now or never, buddy," she mumbled under her breath, ignoring the look that the stationary guard gave her.

After a moment she turned and continued to follow the others down a long corridor. The stationary guard watched them walk until they were out of view and then unlocked a metal door on the wall, revealing a hidden telephone. He hit two buttons and waited for a response.

"_DeWitt."_

"Echo and Sierra are back with Mr. Travers."

"_Excellent."_

"You might want to have the programmers run a scan on Echo. Something's off with her."

There was a long pause before Adelle replied, _"Yes, thank you."_

Upstairs in her office, Adelle placed the phone back on the unit and spun in her chair to face what appeared to be a solid wall. She pressed a few buttons on a remote control and the wall suddenly slid back revealing a wall of television monitors. A few taps of a button later and the screens showed the inside of an elevator carrying who appeared to be Echo, Sierra, Quentin and the other guard. She stared at the screen intently, her lips pressed in a hard line as she studied the girls.

"They certainly look fine," she said aloud to the empty room.

After a moment or two a series of numbers and readings began to scroll across the screen, the hidden sensors in the elevator walls spewing forth the results from their numerous scans and tests. Everything looked to be in order; heart rate, respiration rate, pupil dilation all normal. What had the guard been referring to? Maybe it was time to replace him with someone . . . else . . .

Adelle's eyes suddenly narrowed as a silent alarm began to flash across the screen. The three hidden internal sensors hidden within Echo and Sierra failed to register on the scans.

"Well you're not my girls at all, are you?"

********************

"Sir, I need a contingent of agents and I need them now. If we don't move fast we're going to lose yet another lead."

Assistant Director Harmon Tatum looked up from the file he'd been reading to find Special Agent Paul Ballard leaning over him with his hands on the desk looking as anxious as ever. It was a scene he'd become accustomed to since Ballard had taken a keen interest in what appeared to be a ghost organization.

Frankly, he was getting more than just a little bit tired of what seemed to be his latest obsession.

"Special Agent Ballard, you've been told again and again that you're chasing a dead lead. You've no tangible evidence but a hunch and a few pictures of a pretty girl with big doe eyes."

"A pretty girl with big doe eyes who has no recollection of me despite the fact that I've met her over twenty times now," Ballard explained excitedly.

"Maybe you're just not her type," Tatum offered with a wry smile.

"Sir, I've looked into her eyes more than twenty times and given her my card just as often and never once has she remembered me," he paused. "Until today."

"And how's that?" Tatum asked, his voice skeptical yet interested.

"I received a phone call from her. It was all very fast but she told me that if we can get to her, she'll show me one of the biggest ethics violations in science that we've ever seen."

Tatum scoffed and sat back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Jesus, Paul, is this what it's come down to? I'd hardly warrant an FBI probe into a scientific ethics violation. Ethics are violated every day in every field known to man. What makes you think we should . . ."

"They're cloning humans, Harmon," Ballard interrupted, his voice serious. "Their negligible ethics violation has just broken both State and Federal law and possibly a few International laws as well."

A tense silence settled over them as Tatum took in all of the information. He sighed loudly and sat forward, signing the paper that Ballard had dropped there.

"Take a contingent of ten agents and go, now. I want to be informed of every step of this investigation from this point forward."

"Yes, sir," Ballard said with a nod, grabbing the sheet and exiting the office quickly. He'd already wasted too much time getting the proper paperwork in order. He just hoped that it wasn't too late to help.

********************

Faith did her best not to look around in wonder when they'd stepped off the elevator but she was failing miserably, Satsu right along with her. The sterile offices were boring and not much to look at but the central room that the guard guided them through was anything but. Oriental-inspired with its hardwood floors arching over functional ponds and bamboo-slatted blinds between rooms, it was certainly a sight to see. The fact that the room was filled with seemingly oblivious people doing tai-chi and working out made it even more difficult not to look around.

Satsu looked over and met Faith's eyes, nodding up toward the second level. Faith got the hint and looked up to find a middle-aged woman looking down on them from the above office with much interest. Faith tried her best to look away but her eyes had met the woman's. She thought that maybe she could get away with it at first but then she noticed something flicker behind the woman's eyes.

She knew something was different with whom she thought was Echo.

Quickly averting her gaze, Faith looked to Satsu again and then back ahead of them to the guard they were still following.

"She knows something's up," she said quiet enough that only Satsu and Quentin heard her.

"What do you mean?" Satsu asked just as quietly.

"I looked her in the eyes. She knows I'm not Echo."

"Nice going Captain Obvious!" Satsu scolded.

"Hey, you're the one that told me to look up there in the first place, dumbass! Doesn't matter even if she knows I'm me or not. The cop guy from the card Echo gave you said he'd be here. Never needed backup before and I'm pretty sure we can handle it without him, but all we need to do is bide our time and we won't have to go it alone."

"You're banking an awful lot on a man who you've never met. For all we know he's just some horny Wall Street guy who has the hots for your clonie and won't take no for an answer."

"I can assure you that Special Agent Ballard is indeed someone who can help," Quentin interrupted quietly. "A scientific genius like Adelle DeWitt doesn't just retire into anonymity without a few people sniffing around and wondering why. Ballard was one of those people. He was just an Agent then, of course, young and new and wanting to make a name for himself. I'd expect that years of waiting have only made him more determined."

They all became quiet as they neared a large door that led to some type of lab. The guard made sure that they all made it inside safely and then left, leaving them alone with what appeared to be a few programmers and technicians. A shaggy-haired programmer - Topher - spun around on his stool and smiled at both Faith and Satsu, wholly ignoring Quentin.

"And how are my favorite girls today? Anything interesting to report from the mission?"

"Nothing outside of protocol," Satsu answered automatically, Willow's spell helping her out.

"Excellent," Topher answered and then looked over at his shoulder at one of the waiting technicians. "Morris, run a scan on Sierra and get her uploaded for Dr. DeWitt. She's running a blank slate until her next mission."

Morris stepped forward and took Satsu gently by the elbow, leading her towards a metallic chair across the room. Faith watched her walk away and hoped that Willow had worked some really good mojo on them. No simple spell was going to counter whatever that chair was going to do.

"Echo?"

Faith quickly turned her head and looked at Topher, trying to hide the concern in her eyes.

"Yes?"

"I asked how you're feeling. Adams said that you seem off."

Faith saw something in Topher's eyes that she hadn't seen in anyone else's since she'd entered the building: concern and compassion. Topher seemed to work the closest to the actives and it seemed as though something was bothering him; he knew something was going on. No computer programming could completely erase someone's mind and he was starting to realize that.

"Maybe I am," Faith answered, trying to let Willow's spell completely wash over her so that she could channel Echo more accurately.

"Are you unwell?" he asked.

Faith looked at him and tilted her head to the side, a curious look upon her face.

"No, I'm well. I feel . . . something. I know things; things that make no sense." Her eyes flashed over to Satsu who was currently being placed in the metal chair.

Topher suddenly became very serious.

"Echo, do you feel concern for Sierra?" Echo's eyes flashed back to his and he continued. "Are you having recalls again?"

Faith waited for a moment and then nodded, careful to keep an air of innocence about her. Topher exhaled loudly, shaking his head back and forth a bit.

"I knew it. I've sensed a change in you for a while now. They keep making me fully wipe you but it keeps coming back. You're remembering."

He ran a hand through his hair, caught up in his own thoughts. Faith just watched him and hoped that he would do the right thing. There had to be one person in this place who had the slightest of a conscience.

Suddenly Topher's gaze flicked over to Satsu and his eyes widened.

"Morris!" he called out just before the technician was about to start the machine attached to Satsu. "Change of plans. Sierra doesn't need a wipe. Leave her here and go get Juliet prepped for tonight."

Morris nodded and quickly unhooked Satsu from the machine before leaving out another door. Satsu stood up and walked back over to Faith and Topher, her gaze fixed on Faith.

"Okay, that was too close," Satsu said, her voice a harsh whisper. "We need to quit the charade and get with the action before they start poking and prodding us."

Topher's brow immediately furrowed as he stared at Satsu. "What … Sierra?"

Faith glared at Satsu's little outburst. Nothing quite like blowing their cover to put a chink in their plans. Part of her knew that Satsu was right though. They couldn't risk having the programmers run any scans on them; despite Willow's magic, she was pretty sure it wouldn't stop whatever the scans did to their bodies.

Sighing loudly, she abandoned the rigid stance she'd been in and adopted her usual posture. She looked over to Topher, almost laughing at the confused expression on his face as he glanced between her and Satsu.

"Listen, I'm not who you think I am," Faith began, her eyes pleading with Topher to just believer her. "My name is Faith and someone stole my blood and made who you know as Echo."

"What? I – I don't . . ." Topher stammered.

"And she's not the only one," Satsu said, earning his attention. "My name is Satsu and some jackass stole my blood too," she glared over her shoulder at Quentin. "Sierra is nothing but a cheap Satsu-knockoff."

"This is a practical joke, right? Morris is getting me back for locking him in the men's room. He programmed the both of you to . . ." Topher muttered.

"She's probably a pretty expensive knockoff, actually. She's like the Prime Rib and

you're, I dunno, Spam," Faith joked, grinning when Satsu shot her a dirty look.

"Can't say I've ever been compared to canned meat before. Buffy always said my lips tasted like cinnamon buns though," Satsu added, a bit of a challenge in her voice as she met Faith's grin.

Faith narrowed her eyes at the girl and took a step forward but was stopped by Topher who stepped in-between them.

"Buffy? You mean Buffy Carrigan? She was a client here."

"Wrong-o," Faith replied. "She was undercover trying to find out what kinda high-jinks and shenanigans you guys were up to here. Gotta say, the shenanigans are of the pretty extreme variety." She couldn't help the accusatory look she gave him when she said the last part.

"Whoa whoa whoa," Topher said, holding up his hands, "if you think I knew about any of that stuff you're way off. They told me that the actives voluntarily signed up for five-year contracts. Figured the fat paycheck was enough to sway them. Your friend isn't the only one investigating this place though. A bunch of other scientists keep trying to send their spies in to steal our technology, and who can forget that pain in the ass FBI guy?"

"FBI guy?" Faith asked. She held out the business card Echo had given them and handed it to Topher. "That the one?"

"One in the same. I've got like a hundred of these cards at my apartment. I thought about calling him when Echo and Sierra presented with memory recalls and Dr. DeWitt ordered full wipes on them again and again. Never had the nerve to actually call though."

"Lucky for us I do," Faith said. "Listen, you need to help us out here. Pain-in-the-ass FBI guy is on his way here now and we need to find a way to get him up here. Those apes ya got at the door downstairs are never gonna let him in. Satsu and I can handle whatever happens until then but we can't go hurting these people. Gotta let the law deal with them."

"Right, so I'll just open up a magical portal and beam them up here," Topher said sarcastically.

Faith tilted her head to the side and looked at him. "You can do that?"

Really, would it be so impossible at this point? Slayers, clones, witches, demons; who was to say that the nerdy computer guy couldn't have portal-opening powers?

"It's called sarcasm. Look it up," Satsu said.

"Yeah, maybe after I'm done looking up 'annoying pest.'"

Topher was getting even more and more confused by their back and forth bickering. And now on top of everything, they wanted him to open up some kind of mysterious unguarded passage to get the FBI guys up there. It was impossible! Adelle was going to be expecting Echo's download footage soon and if he didn't send it to her office, she'd come to retrieve it personally.

He suddenly ran over to his computer while Faith and Satsu continued to bicker and typed furiously, opening up the security program. While he was only a programmer, he was the best programmer there. Add that to his elevated security level and he was able to open up the building schematics, locating any and all maintenance access stairwells.

"There!" he exclaimed, his finger anxiously tapping the screen so that Faith and Satsu could see once they'd wandered over. "I can override the security on that maintenance door and have it unlocked for a span of about sixteen minutes before the system catches it."

"Wicked. All I've gotta do is call the guy and tell him where to go," Faith said easily, a satisfied smile on her face.

Topher typed furiously again until an execute menu appeared on the screen.

"There, it's all set. The sixteen-minute window is active. I just hope they get here in time."

Faith nodded and pulled her phone out from her pocket, hitting re-dial on the keypad. She held the phone to her ear and immediately spoke when she heard the other line click.

"You've got sixteen minutes. Rear maintenance door."

Just as she was about to end the call, a loud thud sounded behind her. She spun to find Satsu on the ground and Quentin stumbling over as Topher looked on in shock. Something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye and she looked over just in time to see Adelle grinning coldly at her while someone at her side shot a tranquilizer dart in her direction.

She felt a stinging pain in her thigh and looked down to see the red-feathered tranquilizer dart sticking out of the front of her leg. She quickly pulled it out but it was too late; the medicine was coursing through her blood and she already felt herself losing her balance.

With her last ounce of strength as she finally tumbled over, she slid the cell phone under the desk and looked up at Topher who just stared down at her in horror.

"Don't let them . . . do it . . . to . . . us . . ."

And then her world was dark.

Topher quickly bent down and checked her pulse, then Satsu and Quentin's. Assured that they were still alive and only sleeping, he stood up and looked over to Adelle who was quickly approaching with a small team of actives.

"What are you doing?" he yelled. "You can't just go around hurting people like this, Adelle! They're not Echo and Sierra; they're the girls that you _cloned_ them from. All of this talk of volunteers and genetic studies only for a research project . . . it's all a lie. And you've dragged us all into it with you!"

"Oh, simmer down," Adelle said evenly, dismissing Topher's rant as she looked over Satsu and Faith. "I'm not going to kill them. My Echo and Sierra are gone. I'm simply replacing what's mine with new product."

Topher screwed up his face in disgust.

"These are living, breathing people, Adelle! You can't just mess with someone's life like this!"

Adelle looked over at the woman standing to her side and rolled her eyes, "Please shut him up."

A quick zipping sound was heard before Topher looked down at his side to find a tranquilizer dart stuck there. His eyes widened and he looked up at Adelle in disbelief for just a moment before he too fell to the floor.

"Victor, November . . . get those girls up into the chairs. I'll have my actives one way or another."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

_Faith found herself standing in a darkened square-shaped room with a single light beating down on her from a hole in the center of the ceiling, leaving the rest of the room bathed in darkness. She tried to move but her limbs felt heavy like they were filled with lead. Her head was cloudy, barely letting her focus on a single thought. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate, silently praying that her enhanced slayer hearing would give her some hint of where she was at, but there was nothing. The only sound she heard was an occasional drip somewhere nearby._

"_Hello?" she managed to rasp out, her voice thick and hoarse._

_As if out of nowhere, she saw a golden light in the corner of the room. It took a moment or two for her eyes to focus but she realized that the light was coming from a person. It was beautiful and warm and eerily familiar._

"_B?"_

"_Faith," Buffy answered, the golden light around her growing more brilliant as she neared Faith and the center of the room._

"_What are you doing here?"_

"_I'm your beacon in the storm, Faith. Close your eyes and listen to the sound of my voice." Buffy's voice was soft, almost ethereal. She sounded far-off despite the fact that she was standing close enough to Faith now to touch her._

"_If I close my eyes, I'll forget you." Her eyes were filled with fear, begging Buffy to understand. "They're gonna break me."_

"_They can take me from your head but they can't take me from your heart."_

_Faith regarded her for a moment, burning every inch of her face into her memory before reluctantly closing her eyes._

"_Now, open your eyes, Faith."_

_Her eyelids were heavy and all she could seem to concentrate on was the sound of the drip-drip-dripping, but she slowly and surely began to open her weary eyes._

"Come on, Faith, open your eyes!"

The voice was much louder now and definitely not Buffy's. She focused her eyes just enough to find Satsu hovering above her, her eyes wild as she stared down at her.

"I was dreaming," Faith said as she tried to sit up but was impeded by a number of tubes and electrodes attached to her mostly exposed skin. When the hell had she slipped into the little bikini dealy she was wearing?

"About what?" Satsu asked, trying to distract the girl as she gingerly slid the IV needle out of her hand.

Faith winced slightly but ignored the slight stinging sensation.

"Buffy. She was gonna be my . . . something. My bacon, I think." She looked down and frowned as she noticed what Satsu was doing, then took in the matching bikini-like outfit the girl was wearing.

"Your _bacon_? Okay, that's just weird. But if you remember Buffy, it means they haven't gotten to you yet, either."

"You mean I still have my memories?" Faith asked, feeling her strength coming back to her ounce by tiny ounce as she sat forward again.

"Either that or you're pretty happy to have some half-naked stranger hovering over you."

Faith chuckled and lifted her arm so that Satsu could remove the last of the electrodes from her sides.

"It's not a bad way to wake up but I'm pretty sure I prefer 'em small and blonde."

"Me too," Satsu said with a wink. "Before you go getting all territorial on me, we've gotta find a way out of here. I've about had it with this freaky clone stuff. No one's been in or outta this room since I came to about fifteen minutes ago."

"How long were we out?"

"Half hour, I think. They had us hooked up to some kinda drug cocktail to keep us down. Diazepam keeps us knocked out and cyclobenzaprine is a muscle relaxant so it's suppressing our slayer strength." Faith raised an eyebrow at her and she continued. "My dad's a doctor."

"How'd you wake up if they had us drugged?"

"The med delivery system stalled. Only needed a few minutes without the stuff pumping through me for my metabolism to start to burn it up. You'll be feeling better in like ten minutes but I don't think we should wait around that long."

At that point Satsu had Faith disconnected from the last of the rubber tubing and she ducked her head under her arm, lifting her up out of the chair. Faith's limbs still felt heavy but she was at least able to stand now with Satsu's help.

"Any sign of the FBI guys?" Faith asked as they hobbled over to the door and slowed down to peek out and check if the coast was clear. The marble floor in the lab area was cold against her bare feet and she suddenly realized that they had her favorite pair of boots stashed somewhere. Bastards!

"Nope. Don't think they made it in. It's too late to worry about it now. We'll have to ask the coven for help because we can't do this on our own."

Finding the hallway completely deserted, they quickly hobbled down it until they stumbled upon a flurry of activity in the large central room. Satsu pulled them over to the side and they hid behind a partial wall so that they were able to watch what was going on.

Several of the actives were suited up and waiting for directions from one of the many handlers that were helping them get geared up and combat ready.

Adelle was standing off to the back with her arms crossed over her chest, watching the activity with a pleased smile on her face. Everything was falling into place for her. Sierra and Echo were gone but she had Faith and Satsu to replace them. And the best part of all was that her plan had worked perfectly. When she sent Quentin to locate Giles and the other slayers, she knew that there was no way that they would just let him walk away with the information. In fact, she was counting on them trying to stop him.

She just wasn't counting on him actually trying to help them out.

That didn't matter though; what mattered was that she knew from day one that she could never fully trust Quentin, and that was why, when they'd created his clone, they outfitted him with the ocular hidden camera just like all of the actives had.

Once she'd knocked out Faith and Satsu, downloading the information from the unconscious Quentin was as simple as anything. After watching the footage she knew exactly where to find Giles, and she also knew that they were stashing all of their enrolled slayers in a castle in Scotland.

All she had to do now was gear up her troops, swarm in, and wait for Buffy to come back from her little mystical hideaway. The rest would fall into place. She only wished that she'd made more actives for her team, but she knew that time would come soon enough.

"What do you think they're up to?" Satsu asked as they spied on them from their hidden spot.

"Looks like they're gearing up for war. Betcha any money they had Echo and Sierra followed earlier . . . probably led them right to Giles' place. Why bother with us if they can get their hands on a thousand girls just like us?"

"But it's Buffy she wants; why bother with the peons when she can have the princess?"

"Think about it from a cloning standpoint," Faith whispered, her eyes trained on Adelle. "You don't make a clone from a clone; you make clones from an original. Bitch probably figures it's the same with the slayer. She doesn't want the ones that came after B; she wants the original copy so she can make as many copies of her as she can."

Satsu shook her head and narrowed her eyes, her anger building. She knew that Buffy didn't need a protector but she'd be damned if she didn't feel just the smallest bit protective of the girl. It came with the whole 'being in love with her' deal.

"That's fucked up. She's got a whole room full of actives in there, none of which are slayers. What the hell is she trying to do, build an army?"

"That's precisely what I'm trying to do," Adelle said from across the room, her eyes finally moving over to Satsu and Faith. "Oh, you didn't really think that we don't monitor every square inch of this facility, did you?"

There was no reason to run; they'd never escape from the place without the right security access, and that was _if_ they could make it away from the swarm of actives. With that in mind, Faith stepped out from behind the small wall clad only in the metallic bikini-like outfit they'd dressed her in, ready to make at least a moral stand if not a physical one.

"Well no way am I using your changing rooms then. Next thing I know my goodies will be playing all over the internet."

Satsu stepped up next to her in solidarity as they began a slow stroll into the eye of the storm.

"She's very much like you, you know," Adelle said, tilting her head to the side as she observed Faith. That statement alone was enough to make Faith stop dead in her tracks, seething with anger. "No matter how many times we programmed her with completely unique personality profiles, there's a part of her that always comes out. She's a bit untamed, a bit rough around the edges."

"Guess the clone doesn't fall far from the tree, huh," Faith said, her voice low.

"It doesn't quite matter now, does it?" Adelle asked, approaching them slowly. "Echo is gone, and even if we could get her back, she's fatally flawed. No sense in using faulty product when I can get something better; a sure thing."

"You think that cloning B is gonna take away all your problems? You're dreaming, lady. She's stubborn, proud, and a real pain in the ass. You seriously want more than one of her running around?"

"In fact, I do. Your lesser slayers will provide a nice addition to our standard team, but Miss Summers, well . . . we have special plans for her. Using her blood, we're going to create an army. Heightened senses, preternatural abilities, unmatchable strength, and all from the original source. In the right hands it will be unstoppable."

"And you don't see a problem with that?" Satsu asked, her eyes dark and dangerous as Adelle finally reached them and stood only an arm's length away.

"Why should I?" Adelle asked. "You have your slayer army; why can't I have mine?"

Quicker than Adelle could have anticipated, Faith lashed out and spun her around with her arms up in the air, pulling her back against her chest so that she could keep her immobile. She leaned her head down, her lips dangerously close to Adelle's ear, and whispered,

"Because it's _wrong_."

There was a sudden flurry of activity in the room as the actives jumped into action, surrounding the two girls with their weapons drawn. Satsu stood behind Faith, their backs touching as they spun in a slow circle to gauge their enemies. Adelle didn't struggle; she simply shuffled along with Faith to minimize her discomfort.

"Let her go!" Several of the actives yelled again and again, getting more and more agitated as Faith and Satsu ignored them.

They continued the dance for several minutes, none of the actives willing to get hurt with a reckless false step.

"Nice move, slick. What now?" Satsu asked between clenched teeth.

"You leap into the fray and distract them so I can get the hell outta dodge and have a happily never after with B?"

"Keep dreaming!" Satsu yelled. "I've got seven on my side. We can take 'em."

"Nine on mine, and no we can't. They're human and they're programmed to protect her. They don't have a choice to back down."

"Seems that you're in quite the jam," Adelle said breathlessly and grunted as Faith pulled her arms back a little bit tighter. "They'll not back down. They will protect me and this facility to the death."

Faith grinned maniacally as she leaned down and kissed Adelle fully on the cheek leaving a smudge of her dark lipstick behind.

"Then buckle up, buttercup. I go down, I'm takin' you with me."

She braced herself, muscles coiling under her skin as she prepared to leap into the fray with Adelle as her handy shield, but a new flurry of activity in the room caught her attention and stopped her just in time.

"FBI! Freeze!"

"Hands in the air!"

"Drop your weapons!"

The actives quickly turned to face the intrusion coming face to face with a throng of FBI agents coming at them from behind. Adelle's eyes widened in fear as they actives remained poised to strike, not realizing the actual threat before them. Footsteps behind her made Adelle realize that there were more agents on her other side, effectually surrounding them.

Her actives, deadly and efficient and programmed to follow a specific protocol. Their protocol, this time around, was to never surrender. Her billion dollar project was suddenly facing extinction.

"Shut them down!" she yelled, hoping to catch the attention of one of the frightened technicians over the commotion. "For god's sake, shut them down!"

Luckily for everyone involved, one of the technicians sat behind a large console had heard her loud and clear. He pulled back a plastic bubble and pressed the red button underneath, making all of the actives fall to the ground, unconscious. The FBI agents watched on, confused, but then looked to Faith and Satsu in the middle of the room, still holding Adelle captive with them.

Several of the agents sprang into action again, weapons drawn and aimed right at Faith and Satsu.

"No, no, wait!" came a loud voice from among them and Special Agent Ballard ran forward, waving his arms back and forth to catch their attention. "Stand down! These are the two we're looking for!"

The tension drained from the room again as the agents began to scatter, checking over the fallen actives while rounding up the rest of the people in the facility. Faith continued to hold Adelle against her, unable to believe that she didn't have some kind of horrible backup plan up her sleeve.

Ballard approached Faith and Satsu, his eyes locked on Faith's the entire time.

"You finally remembered me," he said, his eyes wide with wonder.

A smile crept onto Faith's face as she realized how weird it was going to be to explain everything to him. Or to anyone else for that matter.

"Sorry buddy, never seen ya before. I'm not who you think I am but she told us how to get in touch with you. There's a whole mess of shady shit going on here, and this lady," she pulled back on Adelle's arms for emphasis, "is the fucker behind it all."

"I expected as much," Ballard said, his tone changing to one of contempt as he moved over to Adelle and pulled her free from Faith's grip. As soon as he'd pulled one arm down, he had a handcuff slipped around her wrist – tightly. "Dr. Adelle DeWitt has been avoiding the radar since her last stint as an accredited professional. Dr. DeWitt, you're under arrest for numerous gross violations of national and international law."

"My lawyers are going to have a field day with this," she said through clenched teeth as he placed her other wrist in the handcuffs. "This is a private establishment that you've broken into with no verifiable cause."

Ballard smiled then and pulled something out from his pocket. It was Faith's cell phone.

"I've got your verifiable cause right here, Dr. DeWitt. You should've made sure she ended her call before you knocked her unconscious. Not only did we hear your whole sordid conversation over it, but it also acted as a nice little beacon, leading us right to your doorstep. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that our agents are going to find a whole cornucopia of evidence against you here. So about those lawyers? Yeah, you might want to give them a call. You're going to need them."

Adelle didn't struggle as she was led off by another agent but she did manage to turn around and steal one last glance of Faith who was busy sending her off with a one-finger salute. She turned around and continued walking, vowing to herself that this wasn't over yet. There was still too much work to be done.

********************

**(Suggested listening: Not Enough by Our Lady Peace)**

Ballard had arranged to get Faith and Satsu out of the building without undergoing any questioning – his small gift to them for finally helping him bust AFH. The girls seriously doubted that they could get very far in Manhattan dressed the way that they were so they called Willow who immediately teleported them back to Scotland where everyone was now waiting for them. Giles and Willow figured that since his place was no longer safe, they had to move to a safely guarded location.

What place better than one protected by one hundred-plus slayers?

Once she'd borrowed a pair of clothes – from Satsu nonetheless – and had a shower, she realized that she felt a particular hum throughout her body. It wasn't any of the slayers, and it wasn't some kind of demon.

It was _Buffy_.

She knew she had to face her at some point in time but there were other things she had to do first; _needed_ to do first. If Buffy was back, it meant that Sierra and Echo were back to.

And the strange thing was, she could feel the girl. It wasn't the slayer connection, though she could sense that too. Echo was her clone, after all, and that included the slayer bits too. No, this wasn't slayer related; it was something deeper, something instinctual that had her wandering through the castle, ignoring the greeting from everyone she'd passed as she continued on in search.

It eventually brought her to a large wooden door in the middle of a stone wall. She placed her hand on the door and closed her eyes, concentrating on the feeling deep within herself. She didn't know how, but she knew that Echo was just behind that door.

Knocking tentatively – a far cry from her usual barge in and ask questions later attitude – she waited until she heard a 'come in' before stepping almost shyly into the room.

Dark brown eyes greeted her from across the room, holding them in their gaze and rendering her speechless. They could have been twins, only a few things differing between them at all. Echo was slimmer, daily training regimens and a staff nutritionist no doubt contributing to that, no doubt. Faith tried to remember her last meal and vaguely remembered a large pizza and a double order of cheddar fries.

She smiled to herself, thanking god or whoever was listening for slayer metabolism.

"I didn't think you'd stick around long enough to see me," Echo finally said, breaking the awkward silence.

"Why is that?" Faith asked, stopping a few feet away. She couldn't stop looking Echo over, marveling in the near mirror-image of herself.

"Because I'm itching to get the hell out of here too. It's not the people or the scenery; it's just something deep inside making me want to run. I figured I had to get that from you." Her voice was small, tentative; almost as if she was afraid to use it in front of the person she'd been made from.

Faith nodded, pretty sure she understood what Echo was talking about.

"Yeah, I feel it. The old me probably woulda followed it too. Fact is, there's stuff I need to take care of before I go, people I need to see."

It was Echo's turn to nod now. There were so many feelings inside that she was fighting to feel, not sure which were hers and which were from residual programming. Giles and Willow had told her that most of her programming would be reversed in time. She'd be left with who she was, or who she should be, though she didn't know who that person was. That was what scared her the most; she didn't have anyone or anyplace to help her remember that. She had to find out who she was all on her own.

"Giles and Willow told me I'll remember who I am in time. Maybe . . ." she paused, her muscles flexing nervously, "I was thinking that maybe you could give me a heads up. Tell me what I'm in for."

Faith laughed then, not because it was funny, but because she just didn't have an answer. Seeing Echo's confused face, she sighed and sat down on the large bed, running her hand through her hair.

"I'd love to help ya with that, really I would, 'cept for the fact that most days I don't even know who _I _am myself." She looked down at her lap and didn't look up again until she felt the bed sink down a little bit next to her.

"Great. So we're one of those angsty, self-deprecating kind of people. Goody for me."

Faith chuckled then, a real chuckle, and shook her head.

"You're in for one hell of a ride," Faith said, smiling. "You gonna stick around? Lotsa cool people around here. Sure they wouldn't mind helping out."

**(Suggested listening: Not Enough by Our Lady Peace)**

Echo shrugged, looking around the room. "They seem okay. Kinda figured that if I'm gonna do the whole soul-searching thing though, I should do it without people telling me who I am and how I should act and feel."

Faith stared at her then, looking long and hard as she realized a few things of her own then. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by a quiet knock on the already opened door. She turned her head to find Buffy standing there, looking at them both in wonderment.

"I – I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I was looking for you before and Willow said she saw you walk by on auto-pilot. Should I . . . ?"

"You guys talk," Echo said, standing up from the bed.

Faith quickly looked to her, wanting to stop her leaving, but knew that she couldn't. Echo was right; she needed to talk to Buffy.

"You're not going yet, are ya?" Faith asked, watching Echo cross the room.

"Not this minute. Soon as I can though," Echo said easily. She looked over to Buffy then who passed by her on her way into the room. She put her hand over her heart, almost wincing as she watched the girl. "You ever get this feeling?" she asked Faith, her hand still over her heart.

Faith smiled. "Only every time she's nearby."

Echo took one last glance at Buffy and closed the door behind her, leaving Faith and Buffy to have their chat.

Without hesitation, Buffy grabbed Faith's hand and pulled her up into a fierce hug. Faith didn't have any choice but to hug back, wrapping her arms around the girl clinging so tightly to her. She wanted to hold Buffy so badly; to keep her in her arms and make up for every bad thing that happened in their past, but something was stopping her.

There was no happy ending for them right now. She couldn't give herself fully to Buffy when she didn't even know who she herself was.

Buffy could practically feel Faith's inner turmoil. She looked up after a few moments and Faith was looking off at some random spot rather than into her eyes.

"I was worried about you," Buffy said quietly, trying to get Faith to look down at her.

"I can take care of myself," Faith said, her voice strained as she tried to hold back all of her emotions. She felt a soft hand on her cheek, guiding her face so that she was finally looking down at Buffy. She furrowed her brows as she looked into those green eyes, not wanting to get trapped in them for the umpteenth time.

"You can let some other people take care of you for a change, you know," Buffy said and leaned up, just an inch away from bringing her lips to Faith's when Faith suddenly turned her head to the side.

"I can't do this, B," the brunette said, fighting the way her arms seemed to be holding Buffy even tighter. "This is so fucked up."

Her voice was barely a whisper as she said the last part, clenching her eyes tightly shut. Buffy tried to understand but she just couldn't.

"What is?" she asked and was surprised when Faith unwrapped her arms from around her and took a big step back.

"This is. We are!" Faith practically shouted. "You think a little sex changes anything?"

"It was hardly a little, and it does," Buffy said, jaw clenched and tears welling up in her eyes. "We both know what it meant."

"Do we?" Faith asked, a miserable look on her face. "There's no doubt we have some mad physical attraction, B. That much is a given. But what about beyond that?"

"I'm in love with you," Buffy said, her voice barely a whisper. "I never knew what it was before but I do now."

"But do I love you? I don't know what I feel or how to act. I don't even know if I'm fucking coming or going half the time. How can I trust what I'm feeling when I don't even trust myself? I don't know who I am, Buffy." Her voice was desperate, reaching for something but she didn't know what.

"You're Faith. And you do love me. That's all you need to know. We can go from there."

"I can't," Faith said, tears forming in her own eyes now. "Not yet. Maybe some day, but . . . I've gotta find myself, B. When I was talking to Echo she said she's gonna go out on her own, find herself. She can't do that with people all around her telling her how to act and feel, and I can't either."

Buffy was freely crying now, her tears rolling slowly down her cheeks.

"So you're just going to leave? Just like that?"

"I have to," Faith said miserably. "Who knows; when I get my head on straight, I might come back. If you'll have me, I might be back."

"And I just play the waiting game until then, hoping when I'm old and gray that you'll show up on my doorstep telling me that you finally love me back?" She was getting upset; this was not going the way she'd planned!

"No, Buffy. You'll live. You'll go about your life as usual. And if I get back here and the time's right . . . we'll go for it."

Buffy could only stare up at her, willing things to be easier for once in her life. It never seemed to go that way though. Sighing in defeat, she lowered her head and nodded slightly.

"Are you going with Echo then?"

"I was thinking about it," Faith replied, sniffling just a little. "Kinda seems shitty to let her go and not go with her."

"When do you leave?"

"Soon as she's ready."

There was an awkward silence that passed between them, both girls lost in their own thoughts. It was finally Faith who spoke up again.

"Yunno, B, it's probably good for me to be gone for a while. You and me being together right now is like adding fertilizer to a bomb that's about to explode."

Buffy paused before saying, "Sounds like a load of shit to me."

And Faith couldn't help but laugh loudly, her body doing what was natural as she grabbed Buffy's hand and pulled her into another tight hug.

"Do me a favor and don't change, Buffy. Never, for anyone."

Buffy smiled just a little and rested her head on Faith's chest, tucked right under her chin.

"I'll try not to, but just realize that the longer you stay gone, the older and more cantankerous I'm going to get. You're giving up my golden years so you can go and play self-explorer."

Faith smiled softly and brought her hands up to Buffy's face, running her thumbs over her cheeks before leaning down and giving her a chaste but lingering kiss right on her lips. She felt her heart begin to beat faster in her chest and realized that she'd probably find herself back here faster than she could anticipate.

She finally pulled back and rested her forehead against Buffy's, closing her eyes tightly.

"You should go and say goodbye to Echo. I don't think she'll want to leave without seeing you again."

"How do you know?"

"It's why I had Willow bring me back here in the first place."

********************

Echo was in a room just down the hall, trying her best to keep herself busy. Whatever drugs they'd had her on must've slightly hindered her abilities which were now returning back to her faster than anticipated.

Including her slayer hearing.

She'd heard most of Buffy and Faith's conversation though she'd tried her best to block it out, and now she knew that Buffy was on her way to say goodbye. She didn't know if she could stand being around her right now; she was certain that she loved the girl but knew that Buffy's heart belonged to Faith.

Pretty fucked up situation if she had to say so herself!

"So I hear that you're leaving," came a voice from behind her. She turned to see Buffy standing in the doorway, her eyes still red from crying.

"Figure it's what's best right now. Been around people molding me to be what they want long enough. Not that I think you'd do that but . . . I've gotta be able to grow into who I am without all the extra influence."

"What about Sierra?"

"Heard she's thinking about staying here. She's taken a weird interest in Satsu."

Buffy took a few steps into the room, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

"You're welcome here any time you like. You're a slayer, after all, and you should be around people like you. It's a big world out there; it can get pretty lonely."

"Thanks for the offer and all. Maybe some day I'll take ya up on that."

Buffy chuckled, shaking her head lightly as she just stared into Echo's eyes. She was just like Faith, right down to the noncommittal responses.

"Just like her," she said in a daze. Unable to stop herself, she raised one hand up and cupped the side of Echo's face.

Echo unconsciously leaned into the touch, lost in Buffy's green eyes. Her heart was beating like crazy in her chest, making her breath come out a little raggedly.

"I know one way I'm not like her, you know."

"How's that?" Buffy asked, her voice a whisper.

"I don't know who I am but I still know that I love you." Buffy's breath hitched in her throat and Echo continued. "I know I'm not her but . . . doesn't stop me feeling it. Whatever was in her when they made me, kinda got passed to me."

"But that would mean . . ." Buffy began, knowing now that Faith had loved her even as she lay wasting away in a coma almost four years earlier.

"Yeah," Echo interrupted. "So don't give up. She'll be back."

Tears forming in her eyes again, Buffy merely nodded in response. There really wasn't much more she could say.

Echo closed the small distance between them and pressed her lips to Buffy's cheek, her eyes fluttering shut as she basked in the feel of it all. When she felt a tear pool on her lips, she pulled back and looked into Buffy's eyes, and then to the door where Faith stood watching them. She pulled back slowly, looking at Buffy one more time before smiling sadly and walking towards the door.

Buffy turned around just in time to see Echo walk out into the hall. Faith held her gaze for nearly a minute, her sad silence telling Buffy more than her words ever had. She finally turned on her heel and followed Echo, out of the castle and into the unknown.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Buffy padded down the long corridor of the residence wing of the castle, her pink cotton socks muffling the sound of her steps as she crept along. She wasn't proud of what she was going to do but she didn't feel like she had much choice left at this point. Faith had been gone for four long and lonely months and hadn't even called to check in. She'd spoken to Giles a few times and each time had told him to say hi to Buffy, but never once had she even tried to call the castle.

It was time that Buffy finally broke down and did it.

Finally reaching her destination, she stood in front of the large wooden door and took a deep breath. Steeling herself, she raised her arm up and knocked three times, hoping not to wake any of the nearby slayers. She heard shuffling on the other side of the door and, after a moment, it creaked open to reveal a topless Xander on the other side.

Buffy looked him up and down, taking notice of his new and improved svelte body.

"What's up, Buff?"

Buffy paused, biting her lower lip before looking up into his eyes through her eyelashes.

"I need it, Xan."

Xander's friendly smile fell away and he suddenly looked wary, concerned.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea, Buffster."

"Xander, I've been all but abandoned by the woman I love, my horse ran away . . .."

"Dawnie's a centaur, not a horse, and she didn't run away – she'll be back tomorrow."

". . . whatever. The point is, I'm blue, and you have what I need right now."

"Buffy," Xander began, sighing deeply when she put on her resolve face. There was no talking her down when she was resolved. He nodded in compliance before reaching over to his stereo and pulling something from the top.

Buffy eagerly snatched it from his hands and slid it into the pocket of her hooded sweatshirt, glancing both ways down the hall to make sure no one witnessed the transaction.

"Thanks Xan, I owe you."

"Anyone sees you with that? We never met," he said, hiding his smile. He leaned forward and kissed her on her forehead before stepping back into his room and closing the door behind him.

Buffy hurriedly made her way back toward her own room, slipping inside the door easily without being noticed along the way. She locked both the doorknob and the deadbolt, not wanting anyone to disturb her. This was something she had to do alone.

She walked over to her entertainment center, pulling out what Xander had given her and opening it with ease. Holding the slim case in her hands, she took the disc out and slid it into the CD player. It only took a few moments for the familiar twang of country music to start playing and Buffy sighed in relief. She turned around with the CD case marked "Xander's Country Music Mix for the Super Depressed" and clutched it to her chest, letting the dulcet tones soothe her body.

Grabbing the stereo remote control with her other hand, she made her way over to the bed and perched on the end. If Xander knew anything, it was the right music to play when feeling mopey and depressed. She'd heard the CD before, most recently when he was getting over Anya. He didn't have the need for it any longer though so Buffy was happy to take it off of his hands.

Faith had been gone for four months. No calls, no letters, no post cards. For some odd reason, Giles got the occasional update but Buffy apparently didn't warrant one. Buffy chuckled quietly as a song by the Dixie Chicks, "Without You", began to play.

Who was she kidding? She knew when Faith left that there was a good chance the girl wouldn't come back. Maybe now, four months later, it was finally time to accept that.

"_I've sure enjoyed the rain, but I'm looking forward to the sun  
You have to feel the pain, when you lose the love you gave someone  
I thought by now the time would take away these lonely tears  
I hope you're doing fine all alone, but where do I go from here 'cause_

_Without you I'm not okay  
And without you  
I've lost my way  
My heart's stuck  
in second place, ooh  
Without you"_

Buffy sighed and laid back on the bed, her legs dangling off the end. Yep, this was perfect. The last step she needed before she could accept the cold hard facts and move on.

Over the sound of the music, she heard a tentative knock at the door. She tried to ignore it but whoever was on the other side was being persistent.

"Buffy? It's Willow."

"Go away!" Buffy yelled. She grabbed the comforter and rolled onto her side with her legs curled up on the bed, effectively wrapping herself up like a little cocoon.

"Okay, I can do that. Just . . . hand over the CD and I'll be on my way."

"No! I need it!"

"Just let me break down the door and get it," came a second voice from behind the door. Kennedy.

Willow quickly shushed her and tried again. "Buffy, wallowing and listening to country music isn't going to make it any better."

Buffy wasn't listening to reason though. She stuck the remote out from her blanket cocoon and turned the music up louder, completely drowning out Willow and Kennedy's pleas. Another new song began, "I'm Moving On" by Rascal Flatts, and Buffy closed her eyes tightly, listening to the lyrics.

"_I've dealt with my ghosts and I've faced all my demons  
Finally content with a past I regret  
I've found you find strength in your moments of weakness  
For once I'm at peace with myself  
I've been burdened with blame, trapped in the past for too long  
I'm movin' on."_

And that's what she was hoping for; some strength in this, her moment of weakness. This was the last day she was going to sit and wait for Faith; the last day of keeping high hopes for something that wasn't ever going to happen. Faith had told her to live, but she couldn't do that when a small part of her died a little more every day in her absence.

Buffy took a deep breath and relaxed, warm and safe in her little cocoon. The music continued to play as she drifted in and out of consciousness, but then something changed.

****(Suggested listening: Six Underground by The Sneaker Pimps)****

A sensual, pulsing beat began to thump from her speakers. Irritated at the thought that someone had broken into her room, she poked her head from the covers, ready for a verbal battle, but instead found herself at a loss for words.

Her bedroom was draped in soft pink, from the silk drapes and scarves placed over dim lamps right down to the satin pink sheets on her bed which had been beige cotton just a few moments before. Even she herself was suddenly dressed in silky pink lingerie.

"This episode of the Twilight Zone brought to you by Pepto-Bismol," she said to no one in particular.

Something in the corner of the room suddenly caught her eye, standing out in contrast from the pink-washed room. It was a person, long dark hair cascading over an even darker knee-length black trench coat. Was that . . .? It couldn't be.

Right on cue, the figure turned around and smiled, the kind of seductive smile that used to make Buffy nearly melt back when they were younger.

"Faith?"

"In the flesh," Faith answered, her voice sultry and seductive.

"How . . . why . . . what are you doing here?" Buffy was confused, that was a given, but she was also excited and a bit shocked.

"You didn't forget about me, did you baby?" Faith asked, slowly making her way toward the bed.

"Of course I didn't forget about you! I thought about you every day. You're the one who forgot about me!"

"I could never forget you, baby," came a second voice. Buffy looked to the other corner to see Echo approaching, wearing something completely different from Faith. She was clad in a sheer black camisole with matching black panties which completely showed her goodies.

"Echo?" Buffy asked incredulously. She quickly grabbed the satin sheets and pulled them up over her barely-covered body. "What, umm . . . what are you doing here?"

"Aww, not happy to see me too?" Echo asked, her voice just as low and sultry as Faith's. She too was now approaching the bed.

"No, no . . . of course I am. I just didn't expect to see you. In my room. With Faith!"

"We wanted to surprise you, baby," came yet another voice. Buffy's head quickly turned to see Satsu approaching from another corner, her smile seductive and playful. She was wearing a dark purple nightie with feathery trim and a matching purple thong.

"Well, you succeeded. I'm officially surprised!" Buffy said, squirming back onto the center of the bed. Her eyes were wide as they drifted from Satsu to Echo and Faith. Something was definitely not right here . . .

"Then consider it a surprise party, baby," came yet another voice. Buffy turned her head again to find Sierra stalking toward her from the fourth corner of the room, her lacy dark blue bra and panties barely covering her.

"Definitely, definitely surprised," Buffy said in a daze, looking between all four of the rapidly approaching women now. "It's, umm, getting a little bit crowded in here, don't you think?"

"Well you know what they say," Faith began, slowly stripping off her black trench coat to reveal a black leather corset with thigh-high stockings, clipped to her silky black panties with a thin garter. "Two's company, three's a crowd, and four's a party."

"And what's five?" Buffy asked with a loud gulp as the women finally approached the bed and began to climb onto it.

Faith smiled, climbing right up between Buffy's legs as the other women began to caress her arms and stomach.

"Five's a really fuckin' lucky day."

Buffy looked nervous but her fears and anxiety began to slowly fade away as Faith leaned forward and placed her hands on the bed on either side of her, bringing them dangerously close together. She could feel Faith's warm breath on her face and three pairs of hands gently caressing her body. Just as Faith began to lean in and Buffy's eyes closed, practically able to taste her kiss, a loud noise jarred her.

She quickly opened her eyes to find herself swaddled in a sea of beige cotton, her heart beating hard and fast. Grimacing, she reached down and slipped her hand under the waist of her pants and into the confines of her panties, pulling them out to find them covered in her arousal.

"Ugh, not again," she sighed, flopping her head back onto the mattress. She rested there for just a few moments before she tossed the blankets off of herself and climbed off the suddenly very empty bed. The country music had stopped, though she wasn't sure if it was because the CD had ended or Willow had intervened.

Whatever the case, it didn't matter to her. The only thing that mattered was a nice and long shower to help cleanse her dirty mind . . . and the aftereffects still lingering between her legs. She walked to the bureau next to the door and pulled out a fluffy cotton towel before approaching the door itself and making sure whatever disturbance out in the hall had now disappeared.

Convinced that the coast was clear, she opened the door and made a b-line towards the bathroom, hoping to find it empty. Just as she was about to enter the bathroom, Willow popped out from the adjoining hallway and stepped in her way.

"Glad to see you're finally up, Buff," Willow said all too cheerily.

Buffy could barely form words, the stickiness between her legs completely distracting her. "Nnn, shower." She quickly hobbled past a suddenly sympathetic Willow and slammed the door shut behind her.

"Oh, not again," Willow said more to herself than anything. It wasn't the first time that she'd passed Buffy in the hall after one of her dreams that the girl refused to elaborate on. She didn't need to though; Willow pretty much got the gist of it from her flushed skin and the funny way she was walking.

At this rate, the world was going to have a severe water crisis soon.

********************

Freshly showered and dressed, Buffy made her way down to the main level of the castle to see what was going on. Her hair was still wet but it didn't bother her; the castle wasn't as drafty as it looked. She bounded down the steps and into the main parlor to find several slayers sitting around and relaxing while a few others playfully sparred and otherwise goofed around.

She made her way towards the kitchen, most of the greetings directed at her along the way, and opened the fridge to get a bottle of water. The cap came off easy enough and she tilted the bottle back against her lips, letting the cool water put out the rest of the fire that the cold shower couldn't.

Her thirst finally sated, she meandered over to one of the smaller training rooms when she heard what sounded like a really good sparring session going on. She peeked into the small round window to find Satsu and Sierra sparring against one another, barely able to tell them apart from one another even after four months.

Sierra was an eager student, just as Satsu had been when she first began training as a slayer. And just like Satsu, she was determined to be the best. Satsu had found it annoying at first, having a carbon copy of herself following her around and always studying her, but she'd come too appreciate the girl like someone would appreciate their twin. Their sparring sessions became a spectacle, attracting every girl in the castle to the training rooms whenever they'd fight. The interest had died down after four months though and Buffy found herself the only person watching them.

Watching them fight was like trying to fight her own mirror image. They matched punch for punch, kick for kick, always trying to one-up the other. They laughed almost continuously, really enjoying the way they could unleash with one another.

Buffy continued to watch, her head slowly tilting to the side as she observed the way their muscles jumped and flexed, the way each drop of perspiration pooled on their skin, the way their shirts lifted up just enough to reveal their pert . . . bad thoughts!

Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, Buffy stumbled away from the door and banged into a countertop. She finally opened her eyes and made for the exit, hoping to get up to her room without much ado.

This was insane! How long was Faith going to make her wait? She was done with the waiting, done with the wondering if she'd ever be back. She needed to get out of the castle and have a break from life and everyone that reminded her how much she was missing Faith.

****(Suggested Music: Dig by Incubus)****

Taking a back staircase that was rarely used, she finally made it to the residence wing and eventually to her room without being caught. She practically flew into her room, not even taking notice of the fact that her usually closed door was wide open. Slamming it behind her, she walked over to her bed and pulled a large duffle bag out from under it.

There was no way she could sit around any longer . . . she was going nuts!

Just as she began to hastily pull some clothes from her dresser drawer and toss them into the bag, she heard someone clear their voice behind her. She spun on her heel to find Faith standing awkwardly in the corner of the room, a small black rain coat on.

"Ugh, not again!" she said aloud, wondering when she'd fallen asleep again. Maybe she'd never woken up from her first dream; heck, maybe she'd dreamt up the shower and the sparring match. "I am _beyond_ sick and tired of having to take showers every time you decide to pop on by. For your information, wet dreams are no longer just a thing for men!"

Her frustration getting the best of her, she took a rolled-up pair of socks in her hand and whipped them at the image in the corner of her room, paying no attention as the Faith-mirage caught the thrown item.

"Umm, B?" Faith began, confused and amused at the same time.

"Don't 'B' me! Think you can just disappear for four months without calling, without sending a post card, without _anything _and still have the right to invade my dreams and try to talk to me? Think again, chicky!"

She was angrily stuffing the clothing into her bag now, taking no notice of a slowly approaching Faith. After a moment or two she finally looked over and saw Faith standing closer, the rain coat ditched to reveal not a black leather corset or anything naughty; she was wearing a plain old pair of worn blue jeans and a black tee-shirt.

"Oh, giving up on the silk and leather? Of course you are. I'm only going to let you tie me to the bedpost with those silk scarves so many times before the dream gets old, Faith. I need something more than wet dreams and horny fantasies!"

Faith smirked sexily at the little rant. Tying Buffy to the bedpost? Definitely something to set aside for a rainy day.

Realizing that Buffy was obviously in hysterics because she thought she was only a dream-Faith, Faith ever so gently reached out and placed her hand on Buffy's lower back, smiling as the girl stiffened up immediately.

"Did I ever touch you in your dreams, B?"

Buffy slowly, very cautiously, turned to face Faith, looking up into her dark brown eyes.

"No, you didn't," she answered, studying Faith's face.

Faith nodded and stepped a bit closer, effectively closing the distance between them. She ran the back of her other hand along Buffy's cheek, making the girl's eyes flutter shut. After a moment she leaned in and brushed her lips softly over Buffy's, then rested her forehead against hers.

"Did I ever kiss you in your dreams?"

"No," Buffy whispered, her mind almost refusing to believe what her body was confirming as the truth.

Faith paused, her breath catching in her throat for just a brief moment.

"Did I ever tell you that I love you in your dreams?"

Buffy exhaled a shaky breath and brought her hands up so that they rested on Faith's shoulders, trying to confirm that this wasn't some weird sex dream messing with her head for the umpteenth time.

"No," she finally whispered, a few tears falling from her eyes as she realized that this was it; Faith was really back.

Faith pulled back just a little, her fingertips grazing from Buffy's cheek to her chin and lifting it so that Buffy opened her eyes and looked up at her.

"I love you, Buffy," Faith whispered, her voice almost failing her.

Buffy smiled then and, before she could stop herself, she began to sob uncontrollably. She threw her arms around Faith's neck and buried her face against her shoulder, her heart doing flip-flops in her chest as Faith wrapped both arms around her and held her tight.

"Never leave again," Buffy whispered, tears running over her lips as she spoke.

"Never," Faith answered, her lips pressing to Buffy's temple. She began to rain kisses over her face, her words coming out in a mumble as her lips finally met Buffy's in a series of short, urgent kisses. "I'm so sorry, B . . . never leave you again."

They managed to stumble down onto the mattress, Faith resting on top of Buffy as they eagerly pulled at one another's clothes while they kissed. It wasn't long before they were completely naked and moving against one another frantically, trying to feel everything that they'd been missing for those four long months. Truth be told, they were trying to feel everything they'd been missing for over five years now. It was all coming down to this, this one perfect moment where everything finally unfolded. Where their hearts lay open and, instead of spilling hurt and confusion, they only spilled the truth.

Where they finally admitted that, no matter what happened in the past nor what lay ahead of them in the future, they would be together. That they belonged to one another no matter how much they'd denied it before.

That they were madly, truly, profoundly in love with one another. And they wouldn't let anything come between them again.

Faith could feel something building deep inside of her, something she'd never felt before. It was powerful and dizzying and it made her feel like crying. This was real; they were finally together, _making love_.

She felt a tentative hand on her cheek and she opened her eyes to find Buffy staring up at her, her green eyes sparkling.

"Faith," Buffy whispered, her heart beating hard and fast as she felt her orgasm approaching.

"I love you, B," Faith said, her voice straining as she too felt herself starting to come.

They stared into one another's eyes, their pace slowing to let the moment wash over them. Faith shuttered and Buffy gasped, the intensity catching them both by surprise. Faith finally collapsed down onto Buffy, both girls breathing hard against one another.

"I love you too," Buffy whispered, her hands stroking lovingly over Faith's smooth back.

Faith couldn't help but smile and bury her face in Buffy's hair, her entire body tingling.

This love thing? Really wasn't as scary as she thought.

********************

Three Weeks Later, In New York City……

The warm breeze blew through the street and lightly ruffled the paper menus on the table, making Buffy, Faith, and Kennedy all reach out with slayer speed to stop them blowing away. Willow just looked on, amused. She was learning to find it funny when the three slayers synched up like that.

They were at a small café with an outdoor patio, a last-minute spot on their way back to the hotel they were staying at. Buffy and Kennedy had to travel there to deal with a few small problems within the slayer cell set up there, and Faith and Willow tagged along for the ride, deciding to make a short weekend trip out of it. They'd done the shopping that Buffy and Willow had wanted to do, and now they were doing the eating and relaxing that Kennedy and Faith wanted to do.

It worked out perfectly, really.

Buffy was sitting close to Faith, close enough that the brunette had her hand on her back and was rubbing it gently. They'd fallen into small gestures like that easily, almost as if it was perfectly natural for them. Faith was still learning to let her walls down but she was doing an excellent job with it, even going so far as to actually enjoy herself on their quasi-double date.

They'd actually had what could be considered their first argument as a couple just the night before. Riley had apparently contacted Buffy when he found out she was in New York and had asked if she wanted to get together for drinks. Faith seemed almost okay with it at first, but when she saw Buffy wearing her impossibly cute yellow dress for the get-together, she wasn't a happy camper.

She'd done the only thing she could think of at the moment; she fucked Buffy hard and fast against the back of the hotel door and gave her a nice big hickey on her neck, claiming her as her own.

Buffy didn't even care; in fact, she found the whole thing pretty hot.

The meeting with Riley went well. He talked about a few new projects he was involved in with The Initiative, though it was going by another name now. Top secret, of course, but Buffy was used to things like that with him. They'd shared a few drinks and a few stories, but Buffy missed Faith. Here they were on a mini-weekend getaway and she was off having drinks with her old beau.

After about two hours, she excused herself claiming a headache and went back to the hotel so she could see her girlfriend. The steak hoagie she picked up along the way for her just sealed the deal, making Faith shower her with kisses and lots and lots of make up sex.

"Did Riley say why he was in New York?" Willow asked between bites of her Cobb salad, _sans _bacon.

"Mmm," Buffy shrugged as she sipped on her iced tea, "not sure. The usual, top secret kinda stuff I'm sure. He and Sam are working on a new project. He seems really excited about it though."

Faith scoffed, "Farm boy gets excited over a goat. S'probably just some boring mission that he's dressing up to look like something important just to impress you."

Buffy smiled, finding Faith's jealousy almost endearing. She leaned over and gave Faith a soft kiss right on her lips, not even concerned about who could see them.

"Did you tell him anything about the clash of the clonies?" Kennedy asked with her mouth full, earning a glare from Willow.

"That's a big with the no," Buffy answered. "He doesn't need to know anything about that, or that we were involved at least. Whatever he heard about it from the newspapers is enough, I'm sure."

And the newspapers were absolutely filled with stories about rogue scientist Adelle DeWitt and her gross experiments on humans. The FBI tried to cover up as much as they could, taking the actives into protective custody and everything. There were stories about two who had escaped though and Americans seemed to be infatuated with finding them.

Sierra was safely stashed away in Scotland with an ever-vigilant Satsu constantly at her side. Echo, however . . . she was another story. She and Faith had travelled all over the place, spanning several continents and more countries than Faith could remember. They'd finally ended up in America in a sleepy little town in the south. They'd passed themselves off as twins, though sometimes it was hard for people to believe that hotness that awesome came in _two_ packages.

Echo didn't want to stand out; she wanted to blend into the background and just live. No more fighting, no more spying, no more hard action; just life, free and easy.

Faith wanted her to come back to Scotland so she could see what it was like to be among the other slayers but Echo had refused. She was close enough to a slayer cell in San Antonio that she could make it there in a few hours if needed. But until that day came, if it ever did, she just wanted to live anonymously. Faith, of course, knew how to get a hold of her and vowed that she would check in on a monthly basis just to make sure everything was okay.

She knew what the bigger part of Echo's desire to be alone was, though; the girl needed to learn to live without Buffy, who she knew and loved. Faith knew that feeling well; she'd spent years away from Buffy but still couldn't get her out of her system.

Moving her hand to pull Buffy a little closer, Faith smiled at the happy look that Buffy gave her. Buffy really did seem truly happy, and she couldn't believe that she was somehow the cause of that. It truly blew her mind.

"Did you see the latest news?" Willow continued. "Adelle is trying to name names of former colleagues who aided her in hopes of lessening her sentence."

"You mean there were more scientists involved?" Faith asked, her brow furrowed.

"Apparently so. There are all of these reports going around on the news now, speculating that there may have been more than one location involved in the cloning." Seeing the clearly upset look on Faith's face, Willow quickly covered, "It's all just speculation though. There's no evidence to suggest any truth in it."

"Adelle was one sneaky bitch though," Faith replied. "Who knows what other samples she took from that asshole Travers? He all but disappeared once the FBI cleared him of involvement."

Buffy placed a soothing hand on Faith's arm, trying to comfort the girl.

"Baby, you saw Adelle's place. She put all of her eggs in one basket. Besides, all of her financial records indicate that there was only ever one location. There was no way she could've funded more than one operation, not with the funds she had."

Faith nodded, still not quite soothed. Buffy leaned over and gave her yet another kiss, letting it linger a little bit longer this time. Both Willow and Kennedy smiled, never having had seen Buffy this happy and comfortable before.

Faith finally smiled when Buffy pulled away and visibly relaxed.

"You're right, babe. I'm just being paranoid."

The four women settled back into an easier conversation and continued to enjoy their lunch, all but forgetting about any unpleasantness until they heard a slight scuffle in the street. They looked over to see a thief trying to grab the briefcase out of a woman's arms but the woman was fighting back, pulling on the briefcase while attacking the man with her free arm.

The thief finally ran off and several passersby stopped to make sure the woman was alright. She smiled and nodded, fixing her rumpled clothes before continuing to make her way down the street unaffected.

"Did you see that?" Faith asked, amused. "She just gave that guy a beatdown with one hand.

The woman was walking down the sidewalk again, approaching the café as she carried along with determination. Kennedy suddenly stood up, her eyes wide as the woman got nearer and nearer.

"That . . . that's . . . tell me my eyes are playing tricks on me!"

The woman passed by then, not sparing the four women a glance as she continued to make her way down the street. Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her dark-rimmed glasses covered part of her face, but there was no denying who she was. Buffy and Faith sat with their mouths wide open, watching her retreating form, while Willow watched with what could only be described as a pervy smile.

"Two Kennedy's," she babbled, her eyes dreamy and far away.

********************

Riley and Sam Finn stood in the cool elevator, on their way up to the thirty-third floor. They'd taken the same trip up more times than they could count in the last almost five months. They'd had no choice in the matter; it was a direct order from one of their superiors. The very same superior who had made him contact and meet with Buffy the night before.

The elevator stopped and they stepped out, walking down a long corridor until they reached a small cluster of offices. They made their way into the largest of the offices, stopping just inside the door and waiting with their hands behind their backs until they were addressed.

Someone was sat in a big leather office chair with the back of it facing towards them, fingers tapping expectantly on the armrest.

"Did you get it?"

Riley looked over to Sam before answering.

"Yes, ma'am, I did. I'm just . . . I'm having a really hard time with this mission, ma'am. I understand fighting demons and monsters. That's my job and I do it well. I know nothing about science though, and the fact that you've put me in charge of . . ."

"Agent Finn, please stop your whining. Always such a whiner, 'this is wrong' and 'we shouldn't do that' and blah blah blah. I wasn't even around for your whining years ago but my body still recoils at the sound when I have the implanted memory."

The chair slowly spun around to reveal a very much alive Maggie Walsh, age having hardly touched her.

"I should've listened to Adelle when she offered me some of her own actives. She knew that I'd need someone to depend on and that you were just too soft for it. From the first time I met her back in college, she never steered me wrong. It's why we made a pact years ago; a pact to help one another and further our research if something happened to either of us. She provided me with this perfectly cloned body when Adam ruined my last one, and I'll provide her research and her program with whatever it needs to continue until the time she can come back and finish it for herself."

"I understand that, ma'am, and I'm not questioning your authority. I just . . . why Buffy, Professor Walsh? You above all people should know by now that she's not a foe to be taken lightly."

"And I understand this. It's exactly why we must have her. She's a foe quite like none other. Imagine the possibilities of having her fight on our side. We could change the world, Agent Finn."

Shaking his head, he pulled the gold ring from his hand and handed it over to Maggie, careful not to prick her with the small needle on it. The same needle that had pricked Buffy's hand the night before when he'd met with her.

"Professor Walsh, I think you're misunderstanding my concern. I know what a commodity she'll provide. I'm in full agreement with you on that. My concern is of what will happen if the real Buffy Summers finds out about what we're doing here.

Maggie smiled as she looked at the hollow gold ring, finding a drop of perfectly preserved blood rolling around within it.

"We'll just have to be extra sure that she never finds out."

**The End. **

**(for now) :p**


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